Kyoya's apprentice!
by Dark kisshu
Summary: When the delinquent commoner of the school breaks a window and doesn't have the money to pay for it, the host club takes him in as a new member to help repay his debt! But the biggest problem is that he is far from being a gentleman! What happens when Kyoya takes on the biggest challenge of trying to turn a delinquent into a gentleman? What secret does this delinquent have?
1. Chapter 1

**Hello fellow fanfictioners!**

**So, I've always wanted to make an Ouran High School Host Club fanfiction, and well, I finally thought of an idea for one! Yay!**

**I hope you all like the story, so sit back, relax, and enjoooyy~**

**I DON'T OWN ANYTHING**

It was just another casual day at the Ouran academy…

I was in a fight with one of the guys in the hallway, both of us swinging punches at each other and smashing into things on accident.

I lashed out at him, swinging for his head, but he ducked and upper-cutted me right in the jaw.  
It didn't matter though; I quickly took my opportunity to strike and hit him right in the stomach, causing him to fall on the ground in agonizing pain.

I stood over him, figuring that this fight was now over, for it had been going on for a good five minutes already.

"Did'ya honestly think that you could win this time?" I scoffed.

"Third times really _aren't _a charm!"

The other student uncurled from his ball on the floor, and before I could react, he swept me and I fell backwards, thankfully not landing on the ground, but stumbling against one of the giant, _expensive, _windows.

He held me by the collar of my shirt, raising his fist so that he could properly hit my face, but I took my chance and turned the tables on him, grabbing his arms and flipping him around, hitting him against said _expensive _window, to which it broke with a loud shatter.

When I released him and he fell, _again_, to the floor, I knew that the battle was good and over, seeing him slipping in and out of consciousness.

Like I said, just another_ normal _day…

"WHAT THE _HELL_ DO YOU THINK YOU TWO ARE DOING!?" came a loud voice of which I knew just _too well_, and I winced when I saw the principal running towards the both of us.

He stopped and scowled at me, leaning down to touch the injured kids face, and when he saw that I had almost the same amount of bruises as him, he sighed.

"Get to my office while I take care of him." he said sternly, turning his attention to the broken window. "I'll be there shortly."

I sighed and shoved my hands into my pockets. "Yes, sir."

I casually turned on my heel and began walking to his office and sighed again. This would now be my _fourth _visit to the principal's office this week, and it was because of _another damned fight._

Oh, I forgot to introduce myself to you all.

Well, to put it blankly, I'm a male at this school, and my name is Maiya Tsuki Takahashi, but everyone at the school knows me as "Mai".  
But my name sounds pretty girly, doesn't it? Well, that's because I actually _am_ a girl.  
I enrolled into this school as a male, though, because well, that's what I _look_ like.

I tried growing my red hair out long, but even _then _I simply just looked _more_ masculine.

I'm one of the few commoners at this school, but I didn't get in with good grades like the others. I simply got in because the principal is my uncle. Weird to think about, right?

Through time I was given the title as "_second toughest guy on campus"_ (Kasanoda-kun, the _other _red head, was the toughest)and, sadly, also the title of "_one of the hottest guys on campus", _much to my disappointment.

So, no one on campus knows that I'm actually female, except of course, my uncle, and me.

I opened the door to the cold room and took my usual seat, right in front of his desk, and as I played with one of the cuts on my arm, I noticed someone sitting on the couch.

His golden hair matched his light purple eyes that stared at me with curiosity and wonder. I recognized him as the leader of one of the clubs here.

What was his name again? Trevor, or something?

"What happened to you?" he asked in a gasp, seeing the cuts and bruises I had received.

I rolled my eyes. I really wasn't in the mood for talking at the moment, especially to this _pretty boy._

"Got in another fight." I said, giving him a what-can-you-do shrug.

His eyes widened. "Oh~" he mused. "I've heard of you! Yeah, yeah! You're the _commoner _that gets into fights all the time! You're the second toughest guy on campus!"

I rolled my eyes again, turning back to the principal's desk.

I didn't know _why _this Pretty Boy was in the office with me, and frankly, I had no intentions of finding out. I figured that he was there simply to discuss something to the principal concerning his club.

The door to the office swung open, and my uncle came in as mad as ever, steam basically shooting from his ears.

Tamaki leaned back on the couch, wanting to watch what was going to happen next. School fights were strictly off limits here, and the fact that I was a commoner made matters a bit worse for me.

The principal slammed his hands on the desk in a rage.

"Just _what _did you think you were _doing_ back there, Mai!?"

I simply shrugged. "The damn bastard started it, y'know. Y'should be punishin him, not me."

"He has a black eye and he's unconscious!" the principal yelled. "_Don't _tell me that I should be punishing _him_!"

I shrugged again and the principal sighed, rubbing his temples and sinking into his chair. "Listen Mai," he said, cooled down from his previous rage, "You can't keep getting into fights like this! Sure, I've been able to save you from getting suspended, or worse, _expelled, _before, but it's getting hard to do now that you're causing so much mayhem!"

"Sir, c'mon, cut me some slack here."

"Mai, you broke one of the main windows." He growled and shot me a nasty glare. "Do you know how much those things _cost_?"

I tried to think of the amount, but it was too much for my poor commoner brain to imagine.

"Ok, ok." I sighed. "I get it, 'nd I'm sorry. But c'mon, you've been able ta save ma ass before, can't ya just pull some strings 'er sometin?"

Tamaki scowled at the horrible grammar that this young 'boy' had. How had he even _made _it into a school like _this_?

"I can't pull anymore strings." Said the principal, "You've been getting in too much trouble."

"Can't I do sometin ta make it up?"

The principal sighed and rested his head in his hands. "I don't think so."

There was a moment of silence, and I forgot everything in the world around me.

I forgot about the principal in front of me, I forgot about the pain in my arm due to the cut I had received from the broken window, and I even forgot about the pretty boy sitting on the couch, watching this all unfold.

If I was kicked out of this school, then where would I go? No other school wanted me because of my fighting reputation, and not to mention my horrible grades. Basically, if I wasn't going to school _here_, then I wasn't going to school _anywhere_.

Tamaki watched the boy's face drop from a smirk to complete shock.

He knew what he was thinking, and he almost felt a singe of pity for him!

Being the nice gentleman he was, he knew he had to help anyway he could, but what could he _possibly _do to make this situation any better?

That's when it hit him. "Why doesn't he just pay back all the money for the window?" he said enthusiastically, jumping off the couch and onto his feet.

The principal stared at Tamaki. "What do you mean?"

"Think about it!" Tamaki said, pointing at me. "What if he just pays back all the money that he owes for the window! Then we can just forget about the whole school fight and pretend it _never _happened!"

"Sorry ta burst your bubble." I cut in, causing both men to look at me. "But if ya two don't remember, I'm a _commoner. _I can't even afford a uniform."

Tamaki looked me up and down, eyeing the poor black clothing I had on.

"You're right," he sighed and sat back down on the couch. "Sorry, that was a stupid idea."

I crossed my arms and looked away, thinking to myself about the situation I was in.

"Maybe…" said the principal, rising from his chair "…That's _not _such a stupid idea after all."

Pretty Boy and I looked at him. "What do you mean?"

The principal turned to Tamaki.

"Don't you have a commoner in your host club? You said it was because he broke a vase and he needed to pay you guys back."

Tamaki nodded, as if telling the older man to go on.

"Well~" continued the principal, letting the 'L' slide freely off his tongue, "Do you think you have room for one more Host?"

Tamaki's eyes lit up, and my stomach lurched.

No. No _way_ was I going to let this happen.

I'd rather take my sorry chances and get kicked out of this school. Trying to find a new school wouldn't be _so _bad, right? If all else failed, I could go to America! Live in a motel and go to one of those public schools meant for delinquents! Yeah, that sounded like a good plan!

I slid out of my chair and slowly backed away towards the door.

"L-listen," I stuttered, shoving my hands in my pockets, "I-I don't think that'll be necessary. I-I'll just pay ya back s-some oth-"

At first, I thought I had bumped into the wall, but when I felt arms wrap around me I knew it was that damned Pretty Boy.

He rested his chin on my head (for I was that much shorter than him) and he laughed, almost an insane laugh (or what it sounded like to me, anyway).

"Such a cutie, he is!" he said to the principal, looking down at my scared face.

"Red hair and black tips, hm? So cute! Oh~ and nice blue eyes to contrast with it. Well, you don't really see this kind of look every day!"

I tried desperately to push him off of me, but to no avail, for he had a strong hold when he wanted to have one.

He cupped my cheek with his hand.

"Although, we're going to have to make you into a real gentleman. That means no more fighting, _and _we have to change the way you speak."

"What's so friken wrong wit da way I speak?!" I snapped, trying once again to lunge out of his grasp and out the door.

"Oh ho ho~ you're the feisty type!" he cooed and hugged me tighter. "You'll be a perfect member to the team!"

I looked toward my uncle, a look of '_help me_' written on my face.

"P-please sir, I-I'll think of another way ta pay back da money."

The principal sighed and walked over to me, placing a soft hand on my forehead and giving me a sorrowful look.

"Mai, this'll be good for you." He said slowly. "This isn't an idea anymore, it's an _order._ You are going to join the host club and you are going to earn the money so that you can pay for the broken window."

If it wasn't for Tamaki holding me, I would've fallen to my knees.

"S-sir…" I pleaded once more, but he simply walked back to his desk, his mind already made up, and instructed Tamaki to lead me to the host club.

Tamaki did as told, and dragged me out against my will, closing the door behind us.

And as I was led away (Pretty Boy had slung me over his shoulder so that I couldn't escape) I couldn't help but think of the absolute _horrors _that waited for me at that damned club.

Tamaki was rambling on about the members of the club, but I really wasn't listening to him at all. Instead, I was thinking about how I could make my escape to America in the next day or so.

I was still content on my little "Living in a Motel" idea.

Tamaki opened the doors to an abandoned music room, and if I could see what was in front of me I would have seen two twins laying lazily on a couch; a little boy eating cake with an older guy; a scary looking guy typing away at his computer; and a commoner that I recognized, making what looked like instant coffee.

The twins looked over at us as Tamaki put me down, still holding onto the collar of my shirt so that I couldn't run.

"Who's that, boss?" they asked in unison.

Now it was everyone's turn to look at me, and I stared at the floor in embarrassment, rubbing my arm gently, but wincing when I remembered my wounds.

"This," said Tamaki, rubbing my head, "Is Mai Takahashi. He's going to be joining us as a host."

Kyoya looked up from his computer, a spark of curiosity glinting across his emotionless face.

'_This __**can't **__be happening._' I thought to myself, my legs shaking in fear as one of the twins walked over to me.

'_This just __**can't **__be happening!'_

Hikaru bent down slightly so that he could look me in the eyes, and he grinned the biggest Cheshire cat grin I had ever seen.

"New meat, eh?"

**So, I'm not really proud of this chapter, but trust me it'll get better (I hope).**

**This is my second fanfiction, so please don't be to mean!**

**I'm not sure when I will be able to update next, because I have school and another story to work on, so the next chapter might be a little late. I'm not sure yet.**

**Don't forget to follow, favorite, and review!**

**See you all next time!**

**-Maiya Tsuki Takahashi**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again!**

**I hope everyone is feeling alright these past few days.**

**Thank you for the reviews and follows and favorites! It helps with my motivation to post new chapters!**

**Sit back, relax, and enjoy!**

**I still don't own anything (but I wish I owned Kyoya. *fangirls and dies*)**

It had been four hours since I had been dragged against my will to the Host Club, and I was now sitting in one of the corners, trying to cope with everything that had happened so far.

Tamaki had insisted that a gentleman _never _had such long hair (for mine went all the way down to my waist) and he called his hair stylist, and the next thing I knew I was having my hair chopped off, all the way up to my shoulders. I told Tamaki that if he didn't at least let me keep _some_ of my hair long, that I would be happy to not be a host and forget all of this ever happened, but he was _determined_ to keep me as a new member, and so I ended up with my red hair shagging down to my shoulders (with my black tips still intact, of course), and having a black rat tail that was pulled into a tiny, slim braid.

After my hair had been cut, they said that I had to wear the school uniform, and sent me in one of the changing rooms to get dressed.

As I put it on, I noticed that it was _extremely _uncomfortable, and it lacked any fashion sense whatsoever. So, I modified it to my liking, not bothering to wear the tie, leaving the shirt opened a few buttons, and also leaving the jacket open as well. I looked in the mirror once I had modified the outfit to my liking, and after up-and-downing myself a few times, I figured I liked it enough to wear.

Of course Tamaki had protested against my way of wearing the uniform, saying how "ungentlemanly" it looked, but once he saw that I wasn't going to give in and wear the uniform how it was _supposed _to be worn, he marked me as stubborn and proceeded to tell me all about the host club's activities for the week.

Now, I sat in a dark corner of the room, looking back at everything that had happened, and wondering how my mom would react when I walked into the house with a completely different hair style.

I couldn't shake the eerie feeling that someone was watching me, and when I had looked up I noticed that the guy with glasses was watching me over the screen of his laptop.

I sighed and hid my head back in my knees. Why did _he _have to be watching me?

Honestly, I never thought that I could be so scared of someone in my entire life. No, scratch that, I didn't think that I could be scared of so _many _people in my entire life. (Really, I was pretty intimidated by all of them, except for Pretty Boy and the girly one. What was his name? Haruhi? Yeah, that sounded about right.)

Kyoya had noticed the way I acted, and he was absolutely _appalled_ at the idea of Tamaki even _thinking _that they could ever make me into a gentleman. And part of the _Host Club_ for that matter.

But it wasn't his place to go against the kings orders, and he kept his feelings inside, deciding that through the process of trying to make me into a gentleman that he would just stand off on the sidelines and watch.

Oh, how _ironic_ the world can be.

"Kyoya," Tamaki called from the couch from across the room, "Come over here please, we're going to have a Host meeting."

Kyoya sighed and got up, walking over to the rest of his friends and sitting down on the couch next to Mori.

"Alright," started Tamaki in a whisper so that Mai couldn't hear them from across the room, "It's _obvious _that this guy needs to be trained_ a lot _if he ever wants to become a gentleman."

"Gee boss, what was your first clue?" asked Hikaru in a sarcastic tone.

"What I'm _saying-_", returned Tamaki, shooting his friend a glare, "-Is that one of us needs to take him on as an apprentice."

The Hosts grew silent and they all glanced at each other, hoping that someone would volunteer. But when no one spoke up, Tamaki sighed and brushed his hand through his bangs.

"Hikaru, Kaoru, I was hoping that you two could take him on as an apprentice, but you two are _major _trouble, and so is the new kid. And we all know what happens when you mix _trouble _with _trouble_."

Hikaru and Kaoru crossed their arms. "That's mean, boss, calling us trouble."

Tamaki gave a short laugh "Well we all know it's true!"

The twins were silent for a moment, but then after a few seconds of thinking they nodded their heads in agreement. They really _were _trouble, now that they thought about it.

"Maybe Takashi should take Mai on as an apprentice!" Honey chirped energetically.

Tamaki thought about it for a moment, but then shook his head in disagreement. "No," he said, "That won't work. Mori-senpai is too quiet for this job, and we need someone who will put this boy in his place."

After a moment of silence they all looked towards Kyoya, who got the message instantly and sighed.

"Is it honestly necessary for _me_ to take him on as an apprentice?"

The twins both clapped him on each shoulder. "Sure it is!" cooed Hikaru.

"Yeah, think about it!" chimed in Kaoru. "If there's _anyone _who can turn Mai into a gentleman, it's you! You're probably the scariest guy I know!"

"That doesn't exactly make me feel any better." said Kyoya, glancing over his shoulder to look at the depressed boy in the corner. He then turned back to his friends and sighed. "But I suppose you're right. I am the most _patient _out of all of us, and I bet I could scare him straight."

The twins high-fived each other, glad that _they _weren't the ones having to morph this beast into a somewhat acceptable monster, and Tamaki patted Kyoya's leg, saying "You're a good man, Kyoya! Turn this kid into a fitted Host!"

Kyoya sighed and pushed up his glasses with his middle finger "If you say so."

-/-

"No, there's still too much noise, try again."

I sighed and tried (for what seemed to be the _hundredth_ time) again to desperately set down a glass on the table without hearing it tap against the wood.

Apparently I was supposed to "Use my pinky finger as a cushion", whatever the hell _that _meant.

I groaned as I got it wrong _again_ and simply gave up, crossing my arms and death-glaring the stupid glass that seemed to be mocking me.

"I dun see _why_ I have to learn dis!" I protested. "I didn't come here ta learn about stupid friggen teacups!"

"Frankly, I don't see why you came here at all." mumbled one of the twins from behind me, though I'm not sure exactly _which _twin it was.

Kyoya smacked me on the head with the ruler that he had been holding, and I grabbed my head in pain.

"What da hell was dat for!" I yelled through grit teeth. For a nerd, he could hit pretty damn hard when he wanted to.

He smacked me on the head again. "It is pronounced '_the', _not '_da'._ It has a '_th'_, not a '_d'."_

I rubbed the place that he had hit with the wooden ruler, wondering if it would leave a bruise later.

"Why'd ya go and hit me like dat! Dat friggen hurt!"

He smacked me again.

"It is '_you_', and '_that'._" he corrected sharply, "Oh, and it is pronounced '_friking', _though gentlemen _never_ use such horrible language."

"_I'm_ not a friggen _gentleman_." I hissed. "Jeez, for a nerd yer pretty stupid, aint ya?"

He gave a slight smirk at my comment, paying no mind to the insult, and smacked me again.

-/-

"Alright, now, pour the tea for Haruhi." said Kyoya standing next to me with ruler in hand.

Haruhi and I sat at one of the tables where the girls and the Hosts had their appointments. Haruhi was playing the role of a guest, and I was playing the role of a Host. I thought that it was just completely _stupid_ and unnecessary, but Kyoya stated that this was apparently a _major _part of training.

I sighed and poured the drink as told, and pushed it towards Haruhi who took it with a "thank you".

"Very good." Said Kyoya (though I couldn't tell if it was sarcastic or not.)

"Now, you must strike up an interesting conversation. Ask the guest how her day was, maybe what her favorite hobbies are, and things like that."

I rolled my eyes.

"Why should I begin a conversation when I don't wanta talk ta people?" I asked annoyed. "I think it's stupid how these girls come an' make appointments ta talk ta ya guys."

Kyoya smacked me again with the ruler, and I could have sworn that it was my hundredth smack in just two short hours.

"That is a major part of our club. If you're not going to talk to the guests, then you shouldn't be a Host _at all._"

"Not like I really _wanted _ta be." I mumbled under my breath, earning _another_ smack, for he had the ears of a fox.

I winced and rubbed the small bruise that was beginning to form. Then I sighed and turned to Haruhi, stirring my tea lazily with one of the spoons, and asked, "Are you a cross dresser?"

_SMACK!_

_-_/-

I sighed out of relief and stretched. I was so happy that the day was finally over! I picked up my bag and slung it over my shoulder, getting ready to dart out of the room, until I felt a cold hand on my arm.

I jumped at the sudden contact, and whirled around, only to find that it was that stupid _nerd_ again.

"I hope that you at least learned _something_ today." he said rather coldly, pushing up his glasses.

I rolled my eyes in annoyance. "All I learned today was how ta get smacked by a damn ruler."

Kyoya frowned and ran his fingers through his bangs. "Listen." he said, "I don't like you any more than you like me, I get that, but the sooner you actually become a host, the sooner you pay for the broken window and get out of here, so I suggest that you work with me and cooperate."

I scowled at him. "Listen here _nerd. _I don't listen ta _anyone_, so if ya think dat ya can break me an' turn me inta sometin I clearly _aint, _den you got another ting commin."

He smirked and leaned down slightly so that we could be eye-to-eye.

"And you listen here, _punk. I _don't take threats from snot nosed brats like _you_. If there's one thing I'm the best at, it's breaking people. So if you think that you won't be broken and turned into something that you clearly aren't, it is _you_ that has another thing coming."  
And with that said, he pushed up his glasses once more, and walked out of the room, leaving me glaring at nothing but air.

I knew that I couldn't let him break me. I had to stand strong and fight against him as much as I could.

I had come into the Host Club promising to myself that absolutely _nothing_ would break me, and I was determined to keep that promise to myself.

I just had to get rid of the bruise on my head first…

**Alright, so, I hope you all liked the chapter! I have fun writing this story and I have a nice feeling that it may turn out alright!**

**Hopefully I'll be able to update soon! (I was surprised that I actually got this chapter up so quickly!)**

**Don't forget to favorite, follow, and review!**

**See you all next time!**

**-Maiya Tsuki Takahashi**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello again fellow fanfictioners!**

**So, I've been able to update quicker than expected. (I've kinda been neglecting my other story ^-^; ehehe~)**

**I just really enjoy writing this story; it's more fun than my other one!**

**Now, down to the point.**

***ahem* THANK YOU FOR ALL OF THE REVIEWS! YOU GUYS ARE AMMMAAAZZZIIINNNG!**

**I'm glad that you all are enjoying this story! (Honestly when I first started writing it I thought that barely anyone would like it!)**

**So anyway~ I hope you all like this chapter! Sit back, relax, and enjoy!**

**-/-**

"Hey, Mai, wanna come over to my place and study?"

I looked up from resting my head on my desk, and saw my friend Lacey smiling at me, her eyes glowing with excitement.

"Ya know I dun study." I gave a short chuckle and she laughed with me.

"Oh, that's right." She said and tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. "Well, wanna come over just to hang out then? I made cookies yesterday and I know how much you love sweets."

"Hey, quiet down!" I hissed, "Ya know how _girly _it makes me sound, sayin that I like sweet things!"

She laughed again and I grabbed my bag, slinging it over my shoulder as usual, and we walked out with the rest of the class.

"Sure, I'll come over ta your place. I got nothing else ta do, after all."

Now, I know what you're probably thinking.

'_Doesn't she have to go to the Host Club?'_

Well, to answer your question, yes, I _did _have to go. But was I actually _going _to? No!  
But hey, you can't blame me; delinquents have a _record _of ditching classes.

"_Actually~" _I heard a voice from behind (or was it actually two voices?)

I growled as the twins wrapped their arms around my shoulders, one on either side of me, leaving me nowhere to escape to.

Lacey looked at them in wonder. She knew them from the Host Club that was held after school. But what she _didn't _know was why they were clinging off of her friend who seemed annoyed as ever.

"Mai will have to skip the sweets for today." said Hikaru, waving his hand in the air as if trying to dismiss my friend.

"Yeah, he's actually needed at the Host Club." chimed in Kaoru, giving me a look of disapproval for trying to ditch.

I simply growled and looked at the floor in anger. "I was plannin on ditching until _you two _showed up."

The twins laughed and patted my head. "Silly boy! You can't ditch! Especially because _Kyoya_ would be looking for you!"

I shuddered at the thought of it. Kyoya _was_ the best at everything; he could _easily _track me down, even if he wasn't trying hard!

Before I could protest anymore, Hikaru slung me over his shoulder (for apparently I was small enough for even _him_ to carry me) and began walking away, Kaoru waving my friend off with a smile and leaving her to sort out her confusion.

-/-

"Wouldya friggen put me down already!" I said desperately as Hikaru walked into the Host Club.

He complied and finally put me down like I had been begging him to for the whole walk here, and he snickered as he saw the annoyed look on my face.

"I really hate you." I growled, but winced as I felt a hard _smack _on my head.

I turned around and found the stupid nerd smirking at me, pushing up his glasses and then crossing his arms in a sarcastic way.

"So glad you could make it." he mused.

Before I could open my mouth to say anything he opened his mysterious black book and smiled deviously.

"So, since you are planning on being part of the Host Club, I figured that I had to do a bit of research on you before we could let you join."

At this my heart sank and I swallowed hard.

If he did a background check on me, then does that mean he knows that I'm actually a girl? Oh god, then everything would be ruined! I would have to change schools for sure! I wouldn't be able to show my face around this side of Japan anymore!

I shrugged my shoulders and decided to play it cool. Better to seem innocent than cause suspicion.

Kyoya took that as an opportunity to continue. "I couldn't find much on you, much to my disappointment. All I could find was your address and your mother's information. I'm hoping that you can sit down with me and fill me in on some missing things that I need answered."

I looked at him in mock confusion. "Do I really have a choice?"

He smiled at me. "Of course not. I was asking to simply seem polite."

-/-

I flopped down on one of the couches and sighed. I was so glad that I was given a break after the talk I had with Kyoya about my personal information. He said that it was simply going to be a few questions, but to me it seemed like an interrogation!

The questions he asked ranged from what day I was born to what my favorite food was! (Which I really didn't seem necessary to answer, but after receiving a smack from Mr. ruler I figured that any question he wanted answered would be answered sincerely.)

My phone buzzed and I pulled it out of my pocket, flipping it open and rubbing my head.

_**1 New Txt Msg: Lacey**_

I opened the message and read what she had to say.

"**Who were those two guys that kidnapped you?!"**

I chuckled silently to myself before responding.

"**They're not important, dun worry bout it. Sorry I couldn't go over 2 ur place :( "**

**Lacey: Oh, don't worry, it's ok :) Maybe some other time?**

**Me: Ya, sounds cool**

"Aw, how cute!" Hikaru cooed from over my shoulder, and I jumped off the couch in surprise for I didn't hear him approach me at all.

Hikaru rested his chin on his hand and leaned on the edge of the couch slyly.

"Mai, I didn't know you had a girlfriend! No wonder you don't want to be a host, you feel like you're cheating!"

"She's not my _girlfriend_!" I snapped at him, quick to defend myself. (Though I honestly found it a bit funny. Oh, if only they knew that I was a girl!)

"The _reason _I don't want ta be a host is 'cuz I think it's just _stupid_. Who in da right mind wants ta spend their free time talkin ta _girls _and tryin ta make dem _happy_? Personally, I don't _want _ta be fussed over by _girls_."

Hikaru's eyes widened at my words. He stared at me for a moment or two, and I wondered what the hell his devious mind was thinking.

He grinned his Cheshire cat grin and I gulped in fear. Just what the _hell _was he thinking? Had he figured out my real gender?

"Mai, you don't want to be fussed over by girls?"

"No." I answered simply.

"And you don't want to be a host because you don't want to talk to girls?"

"Dat's right."

"So to put it simply, you have no interest in girls _whatsoever_?"

I nodded my head and crossed my arms. "Exactly."

Hikaru laughed and patted my head. "I get it! Mai, there's no need to hide that!"

I looked up at him in angry confusion. "Hide _what_?" I grumbled.

He smiled down at me. "You're gay, aren't you?"

I spun on my heel and fell on my back in sheer embarrassment. Where the _HELL _had _that_ come from?!  
Ok well, I could see where he would get that idea from our conversation, but still!

Hikaru leaned over my scrunched up paper figure. "Oi, you ok?"

I scrambled to get on my feet, and once I did I clenched my fists at my sides.

"No!" I yelled. "I'm not! I'm not gay!"

Hikaru looked me up and down. "Are you sure? You certainly have the figure for it."

I looked myself over. "What's dat supposed ta mean?!"

Hikaru circled me, trying to pinpoint what he was trying to say.

"Well~" he said and stopped in front of me, still looking me up and down. "You're really skinny for a guy. You're short, height wise and temper wise-"

I glared at him.

"-And you're kinda…..oh what's the word…umm….pretty? Yeah, yeah that's it! You're pretty!"

I gaped at him and he gave me a goofy grin in return.

Just what the hell was _wrong_ with this guy?! I was going to open my mouth and protest, but my name was called from the other room, and I figured it was time to get on with my training for the day.

I glared at Hikaru once more before darting away and closing the door behind me. Hikaru laughed to himself and slowly followed, taking his time and acting as if the conversation had never happened.

-/-

"Don't you _dare_ drop the tea tray." growled Kyoya, hitting the ruler against his palm in warning.

I tried my best to keep it steady, not trying to spill any tea and trying to walk over to the table that just seemed so damn far away. I ended up making it to the table without a single drop of tea spilled, and I clapped my hands together in victory. I actually did something right for once!

"Wouldya look at dat!" I said proudly, "I didn't spill a single drop'a tea! Dat's pretty good, dontcha think?"

My pride was soon tarnished though, as I felt the familiar smack of the ruler against my head. I grabbed the place where he had hit in pain and whirled around to glare at him.

"Jus' what da hell was dat for!"

Kyoya frowned at me and pushed his glasses up. "You may have been able to carry a tea tray, but it's your _speaking _that just _kills_ you. If you want to be a gentleman, than you can't speak with such _horrible _grammar."

I rolled my eyes and rubbed the new bruise that I had received.

"Yeah well, if ya dun remember, I dun _want _to be a gentleman. I'm being forced to by the principal."

Kyoya simply smirked at me, and all I could see when I looked at his face was mine being reflected in his glasses.

"We'll change that soon enough." He said a-matter-of-factly.

I chuckled to myself for a moment, and then turned on my heel and picked up my bag. "Welp," I said, beginning to walk off and waving a lazy hand in the air, "I gotta head home, looks like I won the battle today, Kyo-kyo."

I laughed to myself and shoved my hands in my pockets, feeling the great victorious feeling of actually winning against Kyoya for the day. Normally we argued all the time and I would lose every time, but today seemed different, somehow. Today just seemed, better, and I felt like I won!

But as Kyoya decided to get the last word in by throwing the ruler across the room, hitting me right in the back of the head, I knew that my winnings were too soon to be bragged about.

**Yay~ I finally got this posted~**

**So, I'm not sure how long it will be until the next chapter (I'm having some HUGE tests coming up and I'm SUPER busy!), but don't worry, I'll post it as soon as I possibly can!**

**Oh, I almost forgot! A special Happy Birth-Day to my two friends Lucio and Ajero! I love you guys!**

**So, don't forget to follow, favorite, and review!**

**Bye bye!**

**-Maiya Tsuki Takahashi**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello fellow fanfictioners!**

**So, I'm glad that I motivated myself to write this chapter (though I'm still not fully motivated to work on my other story ^-^; ehehe~)**

**Anyways~ thank you all for the reviews! You guys are friken awesome!  
I love coming home after a hard day at school and reading your lovely comments ^-^ It helps with my self-esteem a lot!**

**So, I've been deciding to try and update a soon as I can because you guys leave such lovely and awesome reviews! :D**

**So sit back, relax, and enjoy!**

* * *

I sighed as I slung my bag over my shoulder and walked out of the classroom in a daze.

It had been two months since I had been forced to join the Host Club, and I hadn't even _begun_ to pay off my debt for the window, because those two months were all just strictly training me and preparing me to be a host.

I sighed to myself. So many things had happened in those two months of training.

My speech had actually improved, and I was proud of myself for it.

Instead of saying "da", I could now properly pronounce it as "the", and it went the same for the words "there" and "that".

I still had trouble pouncing "to" at times, but if I sat and tried I could convert it from the improper word "ta", and I was surprised of how much my vocabulary had changed by a few simple smacks of punishment.

No one had figured out that I was a girl, but I had been informed that Haruhi was actually a girl in disguise, trying to pay off _her _debt for breaking a vase.

Us commoners just love breaking expensive things, don't you think?

The news didn't faze me at all, for I had actually had my suspicions of her gender. She just seemed too _graceful_ to be a dude.

Kyoya and I still fought constantly and I still got hit with the ruler, but I figured that that would never change.

I walked across the dimly lit hallways, dragging my feet under me and not bothering to care about the odd looks that I was getting.

It's true, I was in my own little world, trying to sort out my own little thoughts, and was dragging my own little body to my own little nightmare.

I grumbled as I creaked the door open and saw the music room full of happy people, both boys and girls, and my stomach sank as Kyoya saw me, his glasses gleaming with an eerie delight.

Today was the worst day of my miserable life. Today was my biggest and greatest fear. But more importantly, today, I was to become a Host.

-/-

I tugged on the sleeve of my jacket as the girls just simply _stared _at me.

What were they thinking? Were they judging me?

I grumbled nervously, not knowing exactly _what_ to do, and I looked down in embarrassment.

And yet the girls _still_ stared at me, and I peeked up at them from the tops of my eyes, but quickly looked away and tried not to seem so nervous.

"Why are ya looking at me like that?" I asked in annoyance, and one of the girls breathed in a tiny gasp for she wasn't expecting me to speak so suddenly.

I sat up straight and looked at them all. Why had they requested me if they didn't want to talk? Were they here to mock me?

I brushed that thought aside and ran my hand through my bangs.

I sighed lightly to myself.

"How was…er…how was your day?" I asked awkwardly, trying to remember the training I had endured.

"What?" the brunette asked, a little surprised that I had tried to make a decent conversation.

"I said, how was your day? I'm supposed ta ask that."

The three girls looked at each other, and nodded towards the black haired one to answer for them.

"I-it was…fine." she answered nervously, apparently not wanting to get on my bad side.

I nodded my head and stirred my tea slowly with a Pocky stick. Honestly right now, my thoughts were elsewhere.

I wondered, for once, what it would be like to be normal. To be who I was. To be like my guests.  
To be a _girl._

I had been nervous as I saw my guests approach the table, and I _still_ was nervous and tried not to look at any of them in the eye, fearing that they would take what little dignity I had left.  
It would be different if I was talking to a guy. Guys didn't _fear_ me like girls did. Guys didn't _hate _me like girls did.  
I got along better with guys than I did girls, and it was only when I looked down that I realized _why_.

I was one of them. One of the _guys, _and as much as I didn't want to be, I couldn't help who I was, who I _claimed_ to be.

Fearing that my thoughts had become too much for me, I stood up slowly and hid my eyes with my bangs.

"If you'll excuse me," I said shakily, the girls still staring at me, "I'll be right back."

And with that said I walked out of the music room, unnoticed by anyone around me, and I leaned against the nearest wall for support from my numb legs.

I grasped my hair with my hands, and I had to suppress a sorrowful scream.

But even _that_ couldn't help me deal with my cracking sanity, for as I felt my short hair with my fingers, it made me want to cry out even more.  
I had wanted to keep my long hair so badly. It was the one thing that I had that made me similar to the other girls. It was my one chance in trying to fit in with them. But now it was gone, cut clean off, and all I had left of it was this short mess and a slender rat tail styled in a braid.

I bit my lip, trying to suppress the tears that wanted to pour down my face, and I kicked the wall in sheer rage.

Why did I feel this way? Why had I become so _paranoid _of what people thought of me?

The only person I could put my blame on as of this moment was Haruhi, the damn _commoner._

_**She**_was a girl. _**She**_was still loved.

But then, why wasn't I? Why was it that _she _got all the glory, but if _I_ had come out with my real gender I would be _mocked?_

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair at all! I knew it wasn't Haruhi's fault at all, but I just needed someone to blame, something to just take my mind off of this agonizing pain!

I punched the wall, now allowing the tears to fall freely from my blue eyes.

If this was the only way to get my anger out, then so be it.

I punched the wall again, but I didn't feel any better.  
I punched the wall again, but I _still_ didn't feel any better.  
And in sheer anger and disappointment at my actions, I went to punch the wall again, only to find that someone had reached out and caught my hand before I could thrash my anger out anymore.

I looked up in horror to find myself being reflected in a pair of glasses.

"K-Kyoya!"

Once he saw my face stained with tears, he let go of my hand, and I could see in his eyes that he was horrorstruck.

Why was I out here punching the wall when I should be working? Why was I out here when I had guests to attend to? But more importantly, why was I out here crying, and alone?

"I thought that tough guys don't cry." he said simply, trying to show his concern in his nonchalant way.

I backed up a step and rubbed my eyes with the back of my arm. There was no use telling _him_ what was wrong with me.

"It's nothin." I said stubbornly, taking a deep breath and then giving him a weak smile.

"Ya see? I'm perfectly fine. Dun worry about it. I'll get back to work now, can't keep my guests waiting!"

I reached for the handle of the door, when Kyoya put his hand on mine in an attempt to stop me. I looked up at him, the same weak smile on my poor face.

"What's up?" I asked him, trying to get rid of the sadness in my voice.

He looked at me for a moment, trying to find the right words to say. But all he could really think of asking was why I was crying.

"Don't play happy if you truly aren't." he said slowly, still surprised at the thought that this was actually happening, "Why are you out here?"

I shoved my hands into my pockets and shrugged my shoulders casually, as I always did.

"Just thought I'd get some fresh air, y'know?"

He looked at me sternly, but still with a hint of concern. "Don't lie to me."

I stared at him for a moment, trying to think of something to say, but when I couldn't find the right words I simply looked down at the floor and felt as though I was shrinking under his intense gaze.

"I'm sorry, Kyoya. I promise it'll never happen again. I'll go back to work now."

Kyoya put his hand on my shoulder and I looked up at him, the weak smile not on my face anymore, but now replaced with a sincere frown. There was no use hiding my emotions if he could see right through me.

"If there's something troubling you, you can tell me what's wrong." he said, "You're my apprentice, you can talk to me."

After realizing that he wasn't here to make fun of me, and that he was actually _concerned _for _once_, I decided that maybe having Kyoya as a trainer really _wasn't_ that bad after all.

Sure, we almost hated each other, and yeah he smacked me with a ruler, sometimes for punishment but sometimes for fun, but that's what made coming to the Host Club worth it.  
I was _glad_ that I had someone to fight with, for if we got along all the time then it would be boring, wouldn't it?

I gave him another smile, but this time it wasn't weak, but sincere, and he took his hand off my shoulder.

"Don't worry, Kyo-Kyo." I said in my usual tone, forgetting that I had been so sad just a few minutes ago. "I'm fine! Now c'mon, my guests are waitin!"

He looked at me for a moment before smiling a small smile and pushing his glasses up.

"You're sure you want to go back? You can try to be a host again some other day."

I turned towards the door and grabbed the handle gently.

"It's our duty as the elite members of the Ouran Host Club to make every girl happy, right?"

I looked up at Kyoya and he smiled gently. He rustled my hair lightly, not enough to mess it up but just enough to show his affection, and patted my back.

"That's right." he said quietly, "So go make your guests happy."

I nodded and opened the door, stepping back into the parallel universe full of rich kids and hurrying to get to my table.

I walked back over to the waiting girls and began to pour tea for them, and I handed them each the cups and brought out a small tin of hard candies that I had been keeping in my pocket.

"I'm sorry for the interruption!" I said and placed the tin in the middle of the table; a smile plastered on my face as I sat down on the arm of the chair and folded my legs.

I held out a black rose to the ladies and ran a hand through my hair, like I had learned to do during training.

"I think we got off on the wrong foot," I said and smiled at them, watching their faces turn red as I put on my '_cute face'_ that I rarely ever showed. "So let's start over!  
Hello, my name is Mai Takahashi, and I will be your host for the day!"

* * *

**Ugh, I am sooo glad that I got this chapter posted!**

**So, I'm sorry that this chapter wasn't funny, but in every funny fanfiction there has to be an emotional chapter!**

**I always wondered how Haruhi could hide her gender like it was nothing, because personally, it would drive me crazy!**

**So, I'm on break for a week, and I hope that I'll have time to write! But if not, I'm sorry and I'll try to post the next chapter as soon as I can.**

**Don't forget to follow, favorite, and review!**

**I luvs you all!**

**-Maiya Tsuki Takahashi**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello fellow fanfictioners!**

**You guys don't know how much I love coming home to great reviews ; w ;**

**Thank you all so friken much! All of your great comments make me want to post chapters faster, and so, that's what I'm doing!**

**So here's the next chapter!**

**Sit back, relax, and enjoy!**

* * *

"_Mai, what are you doing?_"

I opened my eyes to find both of the twins hovering over me, and I grumbled in annoyance. I hated it when they both talked in unison like that.

"Trying ta sleep, what does it look like?"

The twins looked at each other and raised an eyebrow.

"_Didn't you get enough sleep last night?"_

I thought back to what happened last night and groaned.

You see, unlike all of the other kids at this school, I had a job. (I worked at the local commoner's pastry shop. Hey, you can't blame me. Like I said, I _love_ sweets.)

I knew that it was against school rules to have a job as a student, but how else was I going to pay for my house without my mother working? I was the one that had to support us, and the small after school job was all I had to make enough money for us to be able to stay in an apartment and eat a hot meal.

I simply rolled onto my side and turned my back to them. Wasn't it clear that I _wasn't _in the mood for talking?

I heard them whisper something, and when Kaoru chuckled evilly I _knew_ that I was in trouble.

Before I could turn back around and figure out what the hell they were going to do to me, Hikaru had scooped me up in his arms bridal style and Kaoru nuzzled the side of my head.

"Lookie, Hikaru," chuckled Kaoru, "he's like a baby!"

I growled and swiped at Kaoru, but he dodged me and kept a safe distance while he rustled my hair.

"Aw," cooed Hikaru, "The baby is cranky."

I glared at both of them and they laughed their devilish laugh, catching Tamaki's attention.

"You two stop harassing your younger brother _this instant_!" he warned while pointing his finger at them.

Hikaru put me down and Kaoru hugged me from behind, holding me in place in case I tried to run over to Mori for protection.

I glared at Tamaki. "Since when did _I_ get pulled inta this stupid family relationship?" I asked annoyed.

Tamaki bounded over to me and took me from Kaoru, hugging me tightly and spinning me around.

"You became part of this family after you became a host, silly boy!" he chirped happily.

I pried Tamaki off of me and ran behind Mori as I always did when I was hiding from one of the hosts.

Mori never minded, and sometimes he would help me, so I always went to Mori for protection against crazy people.

"I don't _want _ta be part of this family!" I said, clinging onto Mori's jacket from behind him. "Families are overrated! Something always goes wrong!"

Tamaki gave me a heartbroken look and whirled around to where the Shadow King was sitting.

"Momma! Mai is being mean again!"

Kyoya glared at me through the gleam of his glasses and I gulped. I _hated _it when Tamaki would tell Kyoya on me. I would always end up getting smacked by the goddamn ruler that he carried around.

But again, being the smartass that I was, I decided to play it cool and pretend that I didn't care.

I smirked at Kyoya and placed a hand on my hip.

"Oh please, dun look at me like that!" I scoffed, "I'm not afraid of you!"

The twins placed a hand on each of my shoulders and laughed.

"Silly boy!" said Hikaru.

"Everyone is afraid of Kyoya!"

I shook my head aloofly and held it up high. "I'm not."

Honey skipped over to me, jumping on me and wrapping his legs around my waist. I stumbled a bit as I tried to catch my balance, and once I did the blonde boy spoke up, the little pink flowers around his head spinning in happiness.

"Neh, then what _are_ you afraid of, Mai-kun?"

I stared up at the ceiling in thought. Truth be told, I was afraid of a lot of things, but how would that sound coming from a tough guy?  
No one really knew me well yet, so why not just make something up? Yeah, that was a perfect idea!

"Me?" I said with fake confidence, putting Honey down gently and patting his head, "Oh, I'm not afraid of anything!"

Honey stared up at me with wide eyes. "Mai-kun, that's so cool! You're so tough!"

I cocked my head back and gave a fake kings laugh. "A'course I am!"

The twins smirked evilly from behind me and glanced at each other.  
They were both remembering the time at the beach where they had played the _find-what-Haruhi's-afraid-of _game. Oh, how fun it was having a new host to torture!

They slinked their arms around each of my shoulders and smiled wide.

"_Are you willing to prove it?_"

I looked up at them for a moment in confusion, and then remembered the story that Haruhi had told me about the little game at the beach. My heart sank to my stomach and my fake confidence was gone, burned to ashes and being swept away by the evil devils in front of me.

I still played it cool though, for what could I do? If I backed out of the challenge, then how did it make me look? Not tough, that's for sure.

I nodded my head and smirked at them. "A'course I'm willin ta prove it." I said slyly, "There's _no way_ you guys can scare me."

Kyoya appeared behind me and he pushed up his glasses, their glare covering his eyes with an evil tint, and he twitched his lips in a small smirk as he looked down at me.

"Oh, I beg to differ."

-/-

"Guys, can ya let me out now? It's really boring in here." I said as I knocked on the locked metal door.

The twins had started off with seeing if I was afraid of the dark, which was stupid considering how much I liked to sit in dark corners.  
To me, the dark was like a friend and I welcomed it with open arms.

They opened the door and I looked at their displeased faces and laughed. "You _honestly _thought that I was afraid of the dark? Jeez, you guys are even more stupid than I thought!"

I walked out of the dark room with my hands placed behind my head, watching as Kyoya wrote something down in his black book.

"What's next?" I asked, catching his attention.

He sighed and closed his book, turning on his heel and beginning to walk away. "Follow me."

Twin's plan = FAILED

-/-

"Mori-senpai…I'm not afraid of cats…" I said as I sweat dropped.

Mori did the same as he held the cat out to me by the scruff of its fur.

The cat simply liked its paw and meowed innocently before jumping away and chasing a butterfly, passing a very annoyed Kyoya that was writing in his black book.

Mori's plan = FAILED

-/-

"Alright, Honey, what movie are we watchin?"

Honey popped in the DVD and jumped into the seat next to me, snuggling up against me and curling in a ball.

"The Grudge!" he cooed and hugged Usa-chan around the neck.

I settled in my seat and put my hands behind my head. "Alright, awesome."

As the previews before the movie started, Honey burst into tears and hid his face in my chest.

"Wahhh! It's scary, it's scary, it's scary!" he cried loudly.

I looked at him and raised an eyebrow, trying to pry him off of me and return him to his senses.

"Honey-senpai, the movie hasn't even started yet!"

Honey cried harder and latched around my waist. "Turn it off, turn it off!"

I sighed and patted his head, slipping a lollypop out of my sleeve and giving it to him in an attempt to make him feel better.

He took it gratefully and popped it into his mouth, savoring the flavor as Kyoya was in the background, writing in his book.

Honey's plan = FAILED

-/-

"Tamaki, why are we on the roof of the school?"

Tamaki looked down over the railing and smiled. "To see if you're afraid of heights!"

I looked down over the railing as well and took in the scenery. From up here everyone looked like ants. (Very rich ants I might add.)

I laughed and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. Honestly, everything that the hosts were trying was really stupid.

"I'm not afraid of heights." I said and looked down at the rich ants, "I love hanging out on the roof of the school."

Tamaki sweat dropped and looked over at me. "You really are a strange one." he said with a crooked smile on his face.

Kyoya sat on the railing beside us and wrote in his book; pushing up his glasses and making them gleam in anger.

I paid no mind to him and continued to stare at the school ground.

"Hey, Pretty Boy." I said and Tamaki looked at me.

"What?"

"Wanna bet that I can land on my feet if I jump?"

"No!"

Tamaki's plan = FAILED

-/-

Haruhi sighed as she handed me a cup of instant coffee.

I stared at it with an eyebrow raised. "Are ya tryin ta see if I'm afraid of coffee?"

Haruhi shook her head and sat down, laughing lightly at my comment. "No, no," she chuckled out, "Not at all. Honestly, I'm not interested in playing the game with the others."

**(A/N: You just lost the game)**

I nodded thankfully and sipped the coffee she had given me.

"Thank you, Haruhi. I knew that I could trust you."

Haruhi nodded and noticed Kyoya in the background, his pencil moving furiously across his paper. She sweat dropped and leaned closer to me.

"I think you're really making him angry, y'know. You should just tell him what you're afraid of before he breaks his pencil again."

I looked over my shoulder quickly and smirked, and then I looked back to Haruhi and waved my hand in the air lazily. "I told you, Haru-chan-" I caught myself before moving on with my sentence, "O-oh, i-it's ok if I call ya that, right?"

Haruhi nodded at me and smiled. "It's alright."

I sighed out of relief and continued, "I'm not afraid of anything. If Kyo-Kyo doesn't want to accept that fact, then so be it."

Haruhi leaned back in her chair and held her coffee in her hand, sighing lightly at my stubbornness.

"Hey, why did you start calling him Kyo-Kyo, by the way?" she asked suddenly changing the subject.

She had been wondering when and why I had started calling him that, for it was weird hearing such a cute nickname coming from such a tough guy.

I smirked at her from the edge of my coffee cup and spoke loud enough for Kyoya to hear, "Why, to piss him off, a'course."

As I took a sly sip of coffee I heard the faint sound of Kyoya's pencil snapping in the background, and I evilly chuckled to myself, knowing that I had gotten on his bad side for the week.

-/-

"C'mon, Mai! We've been at this for two hours!" whined Hikaru from the couch.

I shrugged my shoulders and swallowed a piece of candy. "If ya guys would just believe me when I say that I'm not afraid of anything, then we wouldn't be havin a problem."

Tamaki sighed from behind me and put a hand on my head. "I think he's right, men. We've tried almost everything and he won't budge."

I simply nodded my head and placed my hands on my hips. Maybe if they would just listen to me once in a while then they would get to know me better. (Which really wasn't true judging how this whole "Not afraid of anything" trick was all just a lie in the first place.)

The twins walked over to me and clapped me on each shoulder. "_Looks like the tough guy really isn't afraid of anything! You brave little snot nose!"_

I took their insult as a compliment and watched as Kaoru backed up, accidently bumping into Haruhi who was busy sewing a rip in Honey's coat.

The needle she was holding accidently pricked him on his finger and he winced in pain, pulling his hand away quickly and scaring Hikaru.

"Kaoru!" his twin yelled in worry, grasping his hurt hand gently, "Be more careful!"

Kaoru looked at his finger and shrugged it off. "Don't worry, Hikaru, it's only a small scratch."

Hikaru looked at his hand in concern. "But Kaoru, you're bleeding!"

I froze in fear at the words I had just heard, and my eyes grew wide. Bleeding…bleeding meant blood…and blood was that disgusting red ooze that swam out of peoples veins and sent shivers down my poor spine.

Tamaki noticed my tenseness and looked down at me. He waved a hand in front of my face, and seeing as I had no response, he caught on to why was standing there absentmindedly.

"Mai," he said while smirking down at me, catching the twin's attention, "don't tell me that you're afraid of blood?"

Kaoru grinned the most awful grin and walked over to me, holding his bleeding finger in front of my paled face.

My eyes grew wider and became hollow of all emotions as I backed up from him, shaking nervously and trying to get my stomach to settle.

Kaoru raised an eyebrow at me and took a step forward. "So, the big tough guy is afraid of a little blood, eh?" he laughed and scrunched his nose as he smirked evilly, "That's so funny!"

I stood stone still other than the fact that I was shaking in my loose shoes. My eyes darted around the room as paranoia took hold of me, snapping my sanity and sending me into a nervous breakdown. I clutched my head and covered my ears, my knees buckling under me and sending me to the floor.

"G-get it away!" I screamed as I clutched my hair harder, threatening to pull it out of my head.

The hosts stared at me in shock, they had _never_ seen this happen to me before.

How did a tough smart ass turn into a shaking wreck in all but ten seconds? It wasn't even that much blood; it was simply a tiny drop!

Kaoru pulled his hand back and stared at me. He didn't know what to think. Was I faking this breakdown or was it real?  
And if it _was_ real, then why was I _this _afraid of a little blood? No one was naturally _this_ afraid of anything!

I whimpered painfully on the ground as I curled into a ball, tears forming in my eyes and beginning to slide down my cheeks.

"Kaoru, go clean your finger." Kyoya ordered.

Kaoru nodded and ran out of the room to get a tissue, hoping that would calm the crying boy down and bring him out of his meltdown.

Kyoya kneeled down next to me, taking hold of my arm and trying to get my attention.

"Mai, get up." he said sternly.

I didn't even look at him; I didn't even notice that he was there, really.

All I was focused on were the horrific memories swimming through my head, causing my pain and suffering to release itself into tears and muffled sobs.

I remembered the blood, _all of the blood_. It was everywhere, on the carpet, on the couch, on the walls as I walked into the room that one _awful day_.  
And I remembered _him_, lying limp on the ground, the blood coming from him as his eyes were emotionless and hollow.

I clutched my head harder and screamed in pain, trying to get the memories to stop playing in my head, but they shot at me even faster, bringing that awful day back to reality.

Kyoya was yelling at me, but what he was saying, I couldn't understand. All I heard was him yelling, and his grip on my arm tightening.

But both the yelling and the grip on my arm went soon unnoticed as the world grew dark, and I closed my eyes, wanting myself to stop crying and wanting the memories to go away.

My mind began to fade as I heard a soft, familiar voice, and began to calm as the last thing I heard was Kyoya telling the hosts that I would be fine now, that I had simply fainted, and that I would be awake in a good few hours.

* * *

**Jeez….I am really not proud of this chapter at all.**

**Ok, so, if anyone is confused don't worry about it. The ending is meant to be confusing, but your questions will be answered in the next chapter.**

**I've been thinking a lot about what back story I should give myself, and I finally figured out the perfect one!**

**So please, don't worry about the whole memory thing and the whole "I remembered **_**him**_**" thing, for all of that will be answered in the next chapter. (Which I will gladly post soon if I get a lot of nice reviews.)**

**I hope you all liked this chapter!**

**Follow, favorite, and review!**

**-Maiya Tsuki Takahashi**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hello fellow fanfictioners!**

**Thank you for all of your lovely reviews! You guys are just so awesome, and I just want to thank you all for your lovely support of this story!**

**Honestly, when I first started writing this story I figured that no one would like it and I would only get through about 3 chapters before I had to erase it.  
But you guys are just amazing and proved me wrong!**

**So here's another chapter for all of you!**

**Sit back, relax, enjoy!**

* * *

My head pounded furiously as I slowly regained consciousness, feeling every muscle in my poor body ache with fear and regret. I groaned as I felt myself slip out of the dark sleep that I was in, not wanting to wake up and face the light known as the host club.

I heard mumbling, and whispers being spread through the group of people around me. I didn't know what they were saying, and I could only wonder if what they were whispering about was me.

I didn't want to wake up, for the first thing I would be showered with when I opened my blue eyes would be questions.  
Questions to why I was afraid of blood, why I had freaked out so horribly and why I had slipped unconscious at the smallest sight of it.

I didn't want to answer those questions. I had locked that horrible day in the back of my mind, wanting it to stay in the dark abyss forever.

And it wasn't just that day, oh no, for that day only started half of it, it was only the beginning.

I groaned again and I coughed, feeling myself fully awake and alert, and I opened my eyes and stared up at the faded pink ceiling above me.

I blinked as the light invaded my vision and gave me the most awful headache, but once I had gotten used to it I turned my head to look at my surroundings.

The hosts were sitting on the couch opposite of me, and Tamaki's eyes widened as he saw me sit up, rubbing my head in pain.

"My dear son!" he cried and ran over to me, hugging me tightly and crying dramatically.

The twins ran over to me and held my hands, Kaoru kneeling down and looking at me with regret.

"M-Mai," he said, his voice shaking with worry, "I-I'm so sorry. I-if I had only known…" he trailed off absentmindedly as a tear fell down his cheek.

He felt like he was the one to blame for this whole event. If he had never stuck his finger in Mai' face, then none of this would have happened and the poor boy wouldn't have fainted!

I looked at Kaoru and blinked as I tried to focus on him, and once I saw how sorry he was I felt my heart melt.  
I had never seen him with such a hurt expression; it just wasn't natural for him!

I placed my hand on his and smiled at him reassuringly.

"Dun worry, Kaoru," I said softly, trying to make him feel better, "It's ok, I dun mind. It was my fault fer not tellin you guys sooner that I was so afraid of blood. I wanted ta play it cool and act like the tough guy."

Kaoru squeezed my hand when he heard the words I said. How could I possibly forgive him this fast? He had made me faint, and now I was telling him that it was _my _fault? After _I_ was the one that had the breakdown?

I reached out and patted his head weakly when I saw his expression grow even sadder.

"Kaoru, dun worry about it, ok? If ya tell me sorry one more time I'm gunna smack you, understand? It wasn't your fault."

Kaoru twitched his lips in a small smile and hugged me. It was the only other apology that he could think of at the moment.

After Kaoru released me, he sat down on the couch next to me and I sighed, rubbing my head and trying to get rid of the headache that was forming.

I saw Kyoya's glasses gleam from across the couch, and I froze. I had completely forgotten that the Shadow King was here.

He pushed his glasses up and crossed his legs.

"I'm glad you're finally awake." He said with a sigh, "You were out for about an hour."

I hung my head apologetically. "S-sorry, senpai."

Kyoya raised his eyebrows lightly at my comment, for I had never called him senpai before. But he ignored it with a shrug and continued, opening his black book and clicking his pen.

"No need to apologize, really, it wasn't your fault. Though, I'm wondering why blood affects you the way it does. I think I speak for all of us when I say that I'm curious."

I looked up at him for a moment, and then hung my head again, resting it in my hands sadly.

I rubbed my temples lightly in stress as I felt tears perk up in the corners of my eyes.

_Of course_ Kyoya wanted answers. It was foolish of me to actually think that he was _concerned_ for once.

"Kyoya, he doesn't have to answer that if he doesn't want to." said Tamaki, trying to defend me.

I touched his sleeve lightly and looked up at him sadly.

"Dun worry, Pretty Boy." I said reassuringly, "I got this."

I wasn't going to let Kyoya hurt me by demanding answers. No, I was going to face him head on and I was going to tell him what he wanted to hear without crying. I was going to be strong, like I always pretended to be.

I turned to Kyoya and slouched, resting my arms on my knees.

"If you really must know, I'll be more than _happy_ to tell you." I said with a light growl.

Kyoya gave a small smirk and positioned his pen, ready to write down everything I had to say.

I took a deep breath.

"Where do I begin…"

I rubbed my eyes and began my story, feeling all the eyes of the hosts watching me in a sad curiosity.

"Well,

It was four years ago, so I was eleven.  
I had a great family, I couldn't complain at all. I had a mother, a father, and a younger brother. My mother's name is Kami, and my father's name is Jun. My brother was younger than me by two years…his name was Koji.

My father worked for the CIA. We didn't really get to see him often, but it was ok. We would get to see him about twice a week, so we didn't mind. We loved it when he would come home for dinner and we would get to spend time with him.

But on the days that dad didn't come home, it was ok because I had Koji and my mother, and that was good enough for me.

My younger brother was my everything, he was my life. I loved him so much…and it's hard to think that…that someone could…"

I stopped and wiped my eye, feeling a tear threatening to escape.

I sighed shakily and started again.

"Sorry.

It's just hard to think that someone could be so cruel.

I used to do everything with my brother. I would protect him from bullies, which is how I learned to fight, and I would help him with his homework, and I would comfort him when he was crying. He used to be afraid of monsters under his bed, and I would have to check for them every night before he would go to sleep.

He was the cutest thing in the world.

But things started to go downhill for my father one year. It's not easy being in the CIA, y'know. You make a lot of enemies.  
And some will stop at nothing to get revenge."

Tamaki placed a comforting hand on my shoulder.

"We had left Koji home alone one night because he had a cold and wasn't feeling good. We went to the grocery store to get him soup, and we weren't gone for more than ten minutes.

But that's all it took.

When we came home we found the door slightly ajar, and we dropped the groceries and ran inside, calling out for Koji in worry. There was no answer.

When I ran into the living room, that's when I found him…

He was on the carpet….he was just…_lying_ there, in a pool of blood. His eyes were open and he looked so limp and fragile…and I screamed…I screamed as I loud as I could.

I ran over to him and held him in my arms, yelling at him to wake up.  
But he wasn't breathing…

There was blood dripping down the side of his face, and staining his hair. He had the most beautiful red hair…but now it was just _cruel_ to see the different shades, knowing that some of them didn't belong.

My mom ran in and found me holding him, and she ran to the phone to call the police. But it didn't matter, my brother was already gone."

I gave a sad smile and hid my eyes with my bangs.

"The world can be so cruel…

He had been stabbed and he had been left alone to bleed to death. I didn't let him go until the paramedics pried me off of him, telling me that there was no use trying to protect him anymore.

The paramedics left the room with my mom crying on one of their shoulders.

I crawled into the corner of the living room, crying and clutching my head, trying to tell myself that it was just all a dream, that it wasn't real…but it was…

I stayed in the room alone like my brother had been…and I stared at all of the blood in the room.

It was _everywhere_.  
It was on the carpet, on my clothes, on the walls…"

I shook my head in pain at the awful memory playing in my head.

"The killer taunted us, he was so hard to find, but once he _was _found…

Of course, we should have known….

It was that damned bastard, Yuji, who hated my dad. They both worked together in the CIA, but they were enemies…and Yuji _loved_ to show it.

But taking my brother's life….that was just…that was going too far…"

A tear slid down my cheek as Tamaki's grip on my shoulder tightened.

"B-but that's not the end of it!

After my brother died, my parents fought _constantly_.

My father blamed my mother for Koji's death, and my mother blamed my father right back.

They fought every day. They fought over the phone, they fought at home, and sometimes they even fought in the car.

I stayed quiet through those four months of yelling. I didn't see the need to talk to anyone when no one was there to help me.

After four months my parents couldn't take it anymore, and they divorced.

I blamed myself, for I could never blame my brother. Not even on the smallest thing.

My mother and I moved into a small apartment, and she started drinking. At first it started off slowly, but it escalated to the point where I could never have a sober conversation with the woman.

She's a complete wreck now…and she's a drug addict as well…

She doesn't work, and I have to help as much as I can.

I don't know where my dad is, and I don't even know if he's still part of the CIA anymore…hell, I don't even know if the bastard is _alive_ for that matter, but all I know is that I don't care anymore."

I turned my attention to Kyoya who was staring at me through his glasses. I couldn't tell if he was hurt or sympathetic, for his glasses glared out any emotions he had.

"_That's _why you can't find any information on me. No medical records, no birth certificate, no nothing. It's because my dad erased them all."

His mouth twitched in a small frown, but I couldn't tell if it was out of anger because he couldn't find anything on me, or if it was out of sadness because he felt sad for my horrible past.

I sighed deeply and leaned back on the couch. "So, you guys know everything now. Feel free to judge."

The hosts stared at me, wondering what they could possibly say to make the situation any better. But there really wasn't _anything_ they could think of.

Honey cried and spoke up first. "We won't judge you, Mai-kun! We promise!"

The twins held handkerchiefs and cried into them. "_Such a sad story!"_

Tamaki's grip on my shoulder loosened and he hugged me gently, feeling sympathy for the young boy in his arms.

"I'm so sorry, Mai." he said softly. Then, he turned me around and smiled widely. "But you can be part of our family! I can be your daddy! I'll be here to hang out with you, and we can eat dinner together an play catch in the backyard and-"

He trailed off listing all of the different things that normal fathers and sons do, and I mentally laughed to myself. If _only _he knew that I was a girl, then he would be going off about buying princess toys and playing ponies.

Haruhi was staring into her tea cup sadly. I knew about Haruhi's mom, and honestly I had to say that it was a sad story. Maybe even more sad than mine.

Mori was trying to get Honey to stop crying, and the twins were still sobbing in their handkerchiefs.

I faced forward and saw Kyoya. He was sitting still, his pen not moving and his foot not tapping as it normally did.

He stared up at the ceiling in thought, but what he was thinking I wasn't sure. Maybe it was about something that smart people think about, like politics or math.

But when I saw him run his fingers through his bangs sadly and sigh, I knew what he was thinking about. He was like all of the others, and was still concentrating on the poor story that he had heard.

I smiled to myself as I saw him put his black book away and return his pen to its original place in its bag, knowing that for once he was actually concerned for me.

It was then that I saw him give me a glance of sympathy before hiding behind his glasses again, and I knew for once that the Shadow King _did_ have a heart, but it was just buried under a block of ice.

A block of ice that I took the honor of beginning to break

* * *

**Bleck, I don't like how this chapter turned out, but at least it sums up what happened, right?**

**Ok, so, sorry for posting this on Thanksgiving when it's supposed to be a happy holiday, but I'm feeling quiet depressed and had the motivation to write this chapter early.**

**So, I apologize for the crappy quality of this chapter and I hope that you all don't get mad at me for its shittyness.**

**But follow, favorite, and review and I'll see you all next time.**

**Happy Turkey Mutilation Day!**

**-Maiya Tsuki Takahashi**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hello again fellow fanfictioners.**

**So, I am currently in a depressed mood, and have been motivated to write because of it. (I write when I get depressed. Not sure why.)**

**Anyway~ a big thank you to all of those who reviewed! If I could give you all a big hug I would! (But I don't know you and I hate hugs, so that plan fails.)**

**Sorry again for the last chapter being sad and horribly written. My bad ^-^;**

**But, I'll try to make it up to all of you with this chapter!**

**Sit back, relax, enjoy!**

* * *

The classroom was loud with anticipation for the final bell to ring. The teacher had given us the ending fifteen minutes of class to ourselves and we could use our free time how we wanted.

Lacey was chatting with some of her girlfriends, the nerds of the class were trying to finish their homework early, and the rest of the class was kicking back and relaxing, being social and laughing with their group of friends.

I, of course, was classified into my own little group. I was resting my head in my arms, trying desperately to fall asleep before class ended and I had to go to the hell hole known as the Host Club.

It had been a week after the hosts had learned my backstory, and nothing had really changed too much, other than the twins being nicer to me _sometimes_ and Tamaki always pestering me to call him "dad".  
But other than that, everything was the same as it always was, and always would be.

I groaned as I heard one of the kids in class try desperately to strum some chords on his guitar. He would strum a few confidently, and then stop, trying to remember what chord came next, and when he couldn't remember he would try and figure it out by ear, always having to strum about four different chords before he got it right.

Personally, I _hated_ it when people did that. If they didn't know the song by heart and they wanted to play it at school, then they should bring the sheet music and practice instead of butchering the poor music.

I thought that I could try tuning out the horrible thing, but when he hit another wrong chord my mind snapped. It was just so damn aggravating!

I stood up and groggily walked over to the boy, catching the attention of his friends and causing him to stop playing out of fear.

I held my hand out to him. "Give me that really quickly."

He nodded, scared, and handed it to me, hoping that I wouldn't snap the poor thing in half and looking at me apologetically for playing so horribly.

I sat on one of the desks and sighed, resting my hand on the neck of the guitar and thinking about what chords I could let loose into the air.

After a moment of trying to get my hands on the right strings, I began playing "Not Good Enough for Truth in Cliché" by Escape the Fate.

The group of people in front of me stared in awe as I strummed out each chord carelessly, not needing to stop and think about what note I needed to play next. The song flowed naturally from my hands and for once, my face held a certain calmness to it, like I didn't have a care in the world.

I stopped when I heard the bell ring, and I gave the instrument back to the speechless boy who took it with a grateful hand.

"Learn a song by heart, and then play it for your friends. Don't stop the song ta think about the next note. It breaks the rhythm and ruins the music."

The boy nodded and bowed out of respect, and put his instrument back in its black case carefully.

I slung my bag over my shoulder and turned to leave, when I was greeted by a group of girls with hearts in their eyes.

I looked at them confused. Normally girls were afraid of me, but now they were giving me a love-struck look. What had I done to make them so fangirly all of a sudden?

"Mai-kun, we never knew that you could play the guitar so well!" one of the girls spoke up excitedly.

The two other girls nodded in unison and I simply stared at them. Did they really like me all of a sudden just because I knew how to play the guitar?

"Will you play for us again sometime?" the black haired girl asked and my eyes widened slightly.

I rubbed the back of my head nervously. If I didn't shake these girls soon I would be late for the host club!  
And that's when it hit me. The Host Club!  
Of course, why hadn't I seen it sooner?! More fangirls, meant more guests as a host, and the more guests I had as a host the sooner I could pay my debt and say goodbye forever!

An evil light bulb appeared over my head and it flicked deviously.

"Oh, well, y'know I really would, girls." I said in a fake sadness, slumping my shoulders and rubbing my arm. "But, ya see, I can't really stay to long after school, 'cause I have my position at the host club."

The girls gave sad frowns and all looked at each other in defeat. "Oh, that's such a shame."

I ran a hand through my bangs dramatically and sighed. "Isn't it though?"

The girls all turned to leave, and I smirked deviously from behind them. I had them on the hook, now I just had to real them in.

"Hey! I just got an idea!" I said in false shock, like an amazing idea had simply struck me out of the blue.

The girls turned their heads and looked at me with hopeful eyes.

I held my hands out to them and smiled. "Why don't you girls come visit me at the Host Club! You can be my guests and we can drink tea and I can play the guitar to your heart's content! Sound fun?"

The girls lit up like the fourth of July and clasped their hands together, the hearts in their eyes returning and spinning wildly.

"That's such a great idea, Mai-kun!"

I shrugged my shoulders and chuckled. "Oh y'know me, I'm chock full of 'em."

The girls all skipped out of the classroom happily giggling to themselves about how they would request me as a host tomorrow, and I walked out casually behind them, smirking and giving myself a mental pat on the back.

Evil genius: 1.  
Clueless girls: 0.

-/-

I opened the doors to the host club and stepped inside, hearing the familiar click of the lock behind me.

The hosts were still setting up the tables for today's customers, and I took my opportunity to place my bag in its usual spot and stretch, thinking about how I could entertain my guests today.

Kyoya appeared behind me and placed his hand on my head, freaking me out and causing me to spaz.

I let out my held breath as I realized it was only him and calmed down. I hated it when he would do that.

"Go change." He said simply, earning a confused glance from me.

"What do you mean?" I asked with a raised brow, "I'm already dressed."

Kyoya sighed at my stupidity and pushed up his glasses. "I meant, go get changed for today's theme while we finish setting up. Your costume is hanging up in the changing room."

I gulped and took a step back. "W-what?!" I managed to stutter out, "Y-You've never made me change before! W-why now?!"

Kyoya raised an eyebrow at my nervousness. "We didn't have your proper measurements before, but now we do and we're able to make outfits to fit you."

I grew pale at his words and leaned on the arm of the couch for support so that I wouldn't fall over.

"H-how did you magically get my measurements?!"

Kyoya smirked and turned on his heel, walking away casually. "Just go get changed."

I gulped and rubbed my head. I didn't want to know how he had gotten my measurements and I didn't want to stress about it.

I decided to pay no mind to it for now and do as told so that I wouldn't get smacked with the ruler again. You would think that after being in the Host Club for this long that he would have given up on that punishment, but I learned that he could be so damn persistent when he wanted to be.

I closed the curtain and began looking around for my costume. I saw that all of the other costumes where police outfits, and I sighed as I tried to imagine myself wearing one. I shuddered at the thought and vowed to myself that I would never wear one if I wasn't forced to do so like I was now.

I found my name card and took the hanger off the rack, wondering what my costume looked like, for I didn't get to see it because it was behind everyone else's costumes.

My eye twitched in annoyance as I saw my outfit, and I growled as I put it on, trying desperately not to swear for I was afraid that wherever Kyoya was, he could hear me.

You see, although _everyone else_ was a cop, they decided that my little outfit for the day would be the prisoner.  
.Prisoner.

And it wasn't the decent outfits where it was an orange jumpsuit. Oh no, they decided to play it classic and go with the black and white stripes.

"Damn bastards." I muttered under my breath as I pulled on the jacket and buttoned the last few buttons, leaving the top open slightly as I always did.

I brushed myself off and walked out, only to be greeted by the twins glomping me from both sides.

"_Mai-kun, you're so adorable!_" they mused, "_We knew this outfit would suit you!"_

Honey bounded over and held my hand, seeing that there was no room for me to be hugged.

"Mai-kun, you look super cool!"

"If we had you're measurements sooner we could have brought in more customers."

"Daddy thinks you look amazing!"

"Ah."

"You do look nice, Mai-Kun."

I shook the twins off of me and tugged on my rattail nervously. That was a bad habit that I had started after I had gotten my hair chopped off. (I was still mad about that.)

"S-shut up you guys." I stuttered and looked down at the floor.

Personally, I hated compliments and didn't really know how to react when I would receive one, judging by how I normally just received insults most of the time.

The twins snickered before disappearing into the changing room and leaving me alone to be stared at by everyone else. That was another thing I hated. People staring at me.

I walked past them nervously and sat down on the arm of the couch as I usually did, and the hosts took their turns changing into their police uniforms and getting ready to open the doors for the sea of fangirls to come rushing in.

I never liked joining them in their little pose where they would great their first customers with swirling rose petals and girly sparkles. Instead, I liked staying behind in the corner of the room and waiting for my guests to appear, where I would then make myself noticeable and would sit down with them and chat over cake and tea.

The only good thing about joining the host club was that I was able to eat cake every day, and I loved the fact that since I was a host I got to have it for free. (Of course I could only have one slice, but hey, it's better than nothing!)

"Don't you think that Mai-kun looks really cute in his prisoner uniform?" asked Kaoru as the twins watched the boy converse with his guests from afar.

Hikaru smirked and looked at his twin deviously. "If you mean cute enough to interrupt and tease, then yes, I do."

I stirred my tea with a Pocky stick, as usual, and smiled as I talked with the girls in front of me. Currently we were on the topic of favorite foods, and I couldn't help but jump happily at the mention of sweets.

The girls grew quiet and stared behind me like something had caught their attention, and I blinked as I tried to think of why they had stopped talking all of a sudden.

And of course my poor question was answered when I felt a pair of arms wrap around my shoulders in unison.

I sighed and rolled my eyes. "Why, hello Hikaru and Kaoru." I said in a bored tone. "Can I interest ya in something? A cup of tea, maybe?"

I really wish that I had worded my sentence differently, for the twins began to act out their "brotherly love" but sadly, adding me in as a third person.

"No~" Hikaru cooed and slid a finger under my chin, tilting my head up and making me look at him, "We didn't come here for tea."

"We came here for _you_." Kaoru whispered (loud enough for the girls to hear, of course) and I blushed a bright red before I could stop myself from reacting.

I knew that all of this was simply just a game that the twins played, but it still made me flustered when they would decide to add me in it, and now they were teasing me in front of my guests! What could I do other than sit there and blush like an idiot?!

Hikaru chuckled as the girls let out an annoying fangirl squeal and began with their chants of "kawaii-desu-ness".

I stood up and tried desperately to back away, but the twins were more persistent than I was and caught me in an instant.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked Kaoru as he held me from behind, slinking his arms around my waist.

"Don't prisoners know that they're not supposed to run from the police?" chimed in Hikaru, cupping my red face in his hands and leaning in dramatically.

"_Unless they want to be punished."_

I gulped nervously as I heard the girls squeal in excitement from the table next to me.

Why the twins had decided to tease me randomly in front of my guests, I would never know. But the one thing that I _did_ know was that I would get the back.

Oh, I would most _certainly _get them back.

The twins left me with my guests after the little show they had put on and I apologized nervously as I tugged on my rattail.

'_Damn twins'. _I thought to myself as I sipped my tea, trying to make my blush fade.

'_I'll get 'em back someday.'_

-/-

I sighed and sat down on the couch, rubbing my head in frustration and trying to cope with what had happened today.

Really, the only thing that had made me super uncomfortable was when the twins had decided to tease me, but I had already vowed that I would get them back sometime soon, and so I didn't really pay too much attention to it.

And, thinking of the devils, they popped up next to me and sat down on the couch.

"Today was fun, Mai-kun!" Hikaru snickered as he pulled into a headlock and noogied me.

He had started doing that more often, and when I had asked him why he did it he would respond with "it's what older brothers do."

I decided not to question it and go along with whatever he wanted to do.

I leaned back on the couch once Hikaru had released me and sighed.

"Yo, do me a favor and hand me my bag." I said too Kaoru, and he nodded, doing as told.

I nodded my thanks and opened it, pulling out one of my binders and flipping it open, not noticing that a small piece of paper had fallen on the floor.

Hikaru picked it up and examined it, his twin pressing his head next to his in an attempt to see the image too.

It was a small family picture that I kept around with me at all times. It was before my family had gone downhill, and I liked to look at it sometimes to bring back memories.

I still hadn't noticed what they were looking at, for I was too absorbed in my own work that I was jotting down in my binder, and the twins smiled as they examined the people in the photo.

There was my mom, her red hair pulled back into a thick braid and her blue eyes sparkling with delight; my dad, his black hair ruffled in a messy fashion and his golden eyes gleaming with curiosity; my brother, his red hair pulled into a short ponytail and his golden eyes matching my dad's; and then finally there was me, my red hair pooling at my shoulders and my blue eyes crystalizing my emotions in a happy gleam.  
But there was something different about me. Something _weird_, and the twins gasped in shock as they found what it was.

The day that we had the picture taken, my mom had forced me to wear a dress, saying that I had to look like a "normal" girl.

Kaoru gaped at his twin and Hikaru turned the picture around, seeing if the family's names were written on the back.

And sure enough, it read:

_Kami Takahashi – mother_

_Jun Takahashi – father_

_Koji Takahashi – son_

_Maiya Takahashi – daughter_

Hikaru's hand shook and he gulped, looking at Kaoru with the most shocked expression known to mankind.

He lightly tapped me on the shoulder and I looked up, wanting to know why they were interrupting me and what was so goddamn important.

My eyes widened and my heart sank to my stomach as I saw what they were holding.

"_Maiya…you're a…girl?"_

* * *

**Alright, so, cliffhanger ending! Mwahaha!**

**I know I shouldn't be so mean but…eh.**

**So, I don't really think I like the way this chapter turned out, but I am super lazy and don't want to fix it. (That and I wanted to post this as quickly as I could because I will be SUPER MONDO BUSY for a few weeks)**

**Anyway, I finally gave you the chapter that you have all been waiting for! If any of you guessed that the twins would find out first, then congratz! I would give you a prize…but I kinda can't so…yeah *coughs awkwardly***

**I hope you all liked this chapter and don't forget to favorite, follow, and review!**

**-Maiya Tsuki Takahashi**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hello again fellow fanfictioners! So, I've been extremely busy these past few days, and all of the stress is giving me a headache .**

**But, I'll suck it up and continue to write.**

**Thank you for all of the reviews, favorites, and follows! Once again, you guys are amazing!**

**There's not really much to say except for sit back, relax, and enjoy!**

* * *

Recap:

_Kaoru gaped at his twin and Hikaru turned the picture around, seeing if the family's names were written on the back._

_And sure enough, it read:_

_Kami Takahashi – mother_

_Jun Takahashi – father_

_Koji Takahashi – son_

_Maiya Takahashi – daughter_

_Hikaru's hand shook and he gulped, looking at Kaoru with the most shocked expression known to mankind._

_He lightly tapped me on the shoulder and I looked up, wanting to know why they were interrupting me and what was so goddamn important._

_My eyes widened and my heart sank to my stomach as I saw what they were holding. I wanted to snatch the picture away, but my fear chained me down to the spot and didn't allow me to move a muscle._

"_Maiya…you're a…girl?"_

I quickly snatched the picture away from Hikaru and shoved it into my jacket pocket, turning my back to the twins and gulping my fear down.

'This isn't good, this isn't good, this isn't good!' I screamed in my mind as I pulled on my rattail nervously.

This wasn't happening. This just _wasn't _happening!

Not only had someone found out that I was actually a _girl_, but it was the _twins _of all people! The ones with the biggest mouths that they could never keep shut when it came to gossip!

This wasn't good. This wasn't good _at all_.

If the twins decided to tell Kyoya, then Kyoya would tell Tamaki and Tamaki would freak out and I would probably be kicked out of the club and I would have no way to pay for the damned window!  
Now, I know that Haruhi was a girl and she was accepted into the club, but Tamaki actually _liked_ Haruhi, and so he paid no mind to her gender.  
But _me_, on the other hand, he didn't really like. (He thought I was a bit of a smartass, which I am, but that's not the point.)

Tears perked in my eyes as I thought of being kicked out of the club. If I was kicked out of the club I would have no way to pay my debt and I would be kicked out of the school for sure!

If only I hadn't dropped that damned picture, none of this would have happened!

'Dammit all.' I thought and grit my teeth in anger, 'Dammit, dammit, dammit all!'

Hikaru tapped my shoulder again and I whirled around to face him, clenching my fists at my sides and fighting back my tears.

"You better not tell Kyoya!" I warned fiercely, pointing my finger at them.

"If you tell Kyoya, I swear I'll kill you both!"

The twins looked at each other for a moment, and then smirked, which made my stomach uneasy as I remembered their evil minds. Just what were they thinking?

"If we don't tell Kyoya and keep the secret-"

"-then what's in it for us?" they asked and placed their hands on their hips, waiting for an answer that they liked.

I gulped and looked down at the floor. What did _I_ have that _they_ didn't? My mom had some drugs, but I doubt they'd want _that._

"I-I don't have anything that you'd want…a-and I'm poor, s-so…"

The twins slinked their arms around my waist and smirked down at me, completely satisfied with their new found secret and what they could do with it.

"Hikaru, I think I know the _perfect _plan for our Mai-_chan." _chimed Kaoru.

"Oh?" said Hikaru sarcastically, "And what might that be?"

The evil masterminds bent down to my face level and each placed a finger under my chin, making me shudder uncomfortably for I absolutely _hated_ it when they would do that.

"J-just tell me what you want." I stuttered, wanting them to stop keeping me in suspense and just tell me what their intentions were.

Hikaru tilted my head to the side so that I could look him in the eyes, and after he had memorized my terrified expression he leaned in next to my face and whispered, "You're going to be our new toy."

I about jumped out of my skin as I heard what he said, and my knees went weak with embarrassment. Just what the hell did he mean by _toy_? By the way he said it I _really_ didn't like how it sounded.

"W-what are you talking about?" I asked annoyed.

Kaoru patted my head and ruffled my hair softly. "Think of it, Mai-chan. The guests are absolutely_ obsessed _with our 'brotherly love', and we make _a lot_ of money off of it."

I rolled my eyes and pushed them off of me, wanting them to get to the point so that I could go home and sort out my thoughts.

"So~" Hikaru chimed in for his twin, starting where he had left off, "Lately the customers have been getting a little bored of our brotherly love-"

"-It's because they know what to expect!"

"Right." Hikaru agreed with his twin, smiling at him and then turning back to me, smirking evilly like the little devil everyone knew he was, "So recently we've been thinking of adding a _third _person to our 'taboo homosexual love' ."

My eyes grew wide and my mouth dropped open, my chin metaphorically hitting the floor with how much shock I was in.

I began to back away, waving my hands nervously in the air as I tried to escape this nightmare.

"N-no way! I-I won't do it! T-there's no way in hell!" I yelled as I tried to back out of this situation. I would do _anything_ but this! (Well…maybe not _anything_…)

The twins frowned and made a sarcastic "aw" sound.

"_Then I guess we'll just have to tell Kyoya and the boss your little _secret."

I gulped and stopped in my tracks. I knew that the twins would try and blackmail me, but I never thought that my punishment would be something this bad!

I could just see it now.  
The fangirls would be sitting at the table and the twins would be doing whatever the twins normally did, and then they'd call me over to come say hi to their oblivious guests, smirking behind their fake gentlemanly smiles and planning on their next move. I would say hello to the girls, not wanting to be rude to them for it was against the rules to be rude to guests, and I would 'unexpectedly' be pulled into their little 'relationship'. And seeing this new found '_love_' the girls would squeal and demand to see more the next day.

I timidly thought this over in my head.

If I _did_ go along with the plan, then the twins kept my secret _and_ I made more money, resulting in me being able to leave this hell hole sooner and being able to go on with my normal life again.  
But if I _didn't _do it, the twins spilled my secret and I made less money and I would be stuck here longer, but I got to stay comfortable with not being involved in their little 'homosexual love triangle' that they wanted to form.

So what should I possibly choose? To be uncomfortable and keep my secret, or be comfortable and have my secret spilled?

I looked up at the twins and sighed, relaxing my shoulders and kicking the ground in defeat.

"Fine." I mumbled under my breath and turned away.

"But if I do this, you have to promise to not tell anyone, _especially _Kyoya!"

"Don't tell me _what_?"

My eyes widened and I whipped around to find Kyoya in front of the twins, tapping the ruler against his pale hand as a reminder of what happens when someone in the club kept secrets from him.

I gulped and tried to think of a lie that he would believe. I looked around the room timidly in desperation, and finally set my eyes upon a guitar that was resting in the corner of the room. That's when it hit me. I had told some girls in class that I would play the guitar for them, and that would _surly _bring in more customers!

I turned back to my worst nightmare and smiled guiltily, pretending that the conversation between the twins and I had never happened.

"Jeez, well now that you heard us, you totally just ruined the surprise!"

Kyoya glared at me through his glasses and tapped the ruler on his hand once more, signaling for me to stop rambling and to get to the point.

The twins looked sorrowfully at me from behind him and I gave them a fast reassuring look, telling them with my eyes that I could handle this.

I turned back to Kyoya and shoved my hands in my jacket pockets. "Ok, ok. If you _must _know, I promised some girls from my class that I'd play the guitar for them tomorrow, and they said that they couldn't wait! So then I went on to thinking, 'Hey, maybe if I played the guitar every day, it would bring in more guests for me!'"

The twins nodded, catching on to my lie quickly and trying to help make it sound convincing.

"_Right, right! And Mai-kun was just asking us if it was a good idea or not!"_

I nodded my head and sent them a thankful look. "Right, and I wanted to keep it a secret from you so that I could surprise you, but I guess that failed!"

Kyoya looked at me suspiciously as I smiled at him, and he lowered the ruler to his side and pushed up his glasses. He turned on his heel and began walking away, the clicks of his shoes leaving a cautious feeling behind them and making my stomach sink uneasily.

"If you think it will bring in more guests, then fine, go ahead and do that. I don't see why you had to try and hide it from me."

The twins and I stayed silently smiling and watching him walk away, watching as he closed the huge door behind him and sighing out of relief once we heard the familiar click of the handle.

"That was so scary!" breathed Kaoru, grabbing his heart dramatically and stumbling backwards as if he was going to fall.

I paid no mind to him and picked up my bag and slung it over my shoulder, glaring at the twins once more before I left.

"If Kyoya asks why I'm part of your stupid little group now, just tell him you think it'll make more profit. I swear, if he or anyone else finds out because of you two, I will personally sneak into your house at night and kill you in your sleep, got it?

The twins saluted and nodded their heads. "_Got it!"_

I turned on my heel and walked away, cursing under my breath as I walked down the hallway of the rich school.

After today, I _knew _that the club would be a living hell.

* * *

**So, not really proud of this chapter…meh…**

**But I hope you all liked it! Sorry for my absence but I've just been extremely friken busy and I haven't even had time to even turn on my computer, let alone write!**

**But, I'll try to post the next chapter as soon as I can.**

**So again, sorry for the crappieness of this chapter, but don't forget to follow, favorite, and review!**

**See you all next time!**

**-Maiya Tsuki Takahashi**


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello fellow fanfictioners!**

**Sorry for my absence, but a lot of shit has been happening at school and I'm super busy with karate.**

**But, I am proud to announce that the next chapter is finally here! Hurray!**

**Oh, by the way, I've been getting a few reviews asking whether Kyoya **_**actually**_** believes that I am a boy, or if he's just faking not knowing.  
Now, I know that Kyoya **_**is**_** the brightest crayon in the box, but he actually hasn't figured out that I am a girl yet! I'm just pretty awesome like that, y'know?**

**So, thank you for all of the reviews and sit back, relax, and enjoy!**

* * *

I yawned and rested my head on the desk as I heard students chatting around me. The teacher, as usual, had given us fifteen minutes of free time before the last bell rang, and I was trying desperately to get a small nap before I had to go to the Host Club.

It had been two weeks since the twins found out that I was a girl, and ever since then the club has been even more hell than it originally is.

The twins were right when they said that customers would_ love_ to see me included in their little "taboo love" and they had been doing almost anything and everything to torture me. The guests thought that it was "_oh so kawaii_" the way I would blush and become flustered beyond belief when the twins would tease me, and they would squeal their normal fan girl squeals and clasp their hands the way that normal fan girls did.

_I_ on the other hand, did _not_ think it was "_oh so kawaii"_ and I did _not_ squeal a fan girl squeal, and I did _not_ clasp my hands the way that friken fan girls did.

In fact, I _hated_ my fan girls.

"Nee, Mai-kun." I heard a girl's voice say, and I opened my eyes groggily and looked up.

Lacey was smiling at me, her short blonde hair stopping at her shoulders and the bow of her dress was tied neatly so that she looked presentable. I gave a small smile at her and rested my head on my hand. She looked the same as she usually did, happy without a care in the world.

"What's up?" I asked.

"Umm, well," she said and played with the end of her sleeve, "I was wondering if you could come over to my house to study today. I baked chocolate chip cookies, your favorite."

The edges of my lips fell into a small frown and I sighed, knowing that the cookies would taste amazing but would be out of my reach because of the Host Club.

"I can't," I said sadly, "I have to work at the Host Club again today. Girls keep making reservations for me and I can't catch a break."

"Oh." Lacey sighed and sat down on the desk next to me, smoothing out her dress. She looked at me and cocked her head. "What do you do at the Host Club anyways?"

I rubbed the bridge of my nose in annoyance. Not in annoyance at my friend, but to the damned club.

"Well, girls request to talk to me, and then we sit at a table and drink tea and eat cake, and we talk until I have a new set of guests come in."

Lacey raised an eyebrow at me. "That's it?"

I nodded. "That's it."

My friend placed a hand over her mouth and chuckled. "I didn't know that you'd be into that kind of stuff, Mai-kun. It seems so out of character for you."

I sighed again and rubbed my head. "I'm being forced to do it. I'm not into it at all, trust me."

The bell rang and I stood up quickly, not wanting to be late and get a scolding from Kyoya.

I hugged my friend goodbye and ran out of the room, hoping that I didn't have to wear another embarrassing costume like I usually did.

Lacey watched me run out of the room and sighed, picking up her bag and slowly making her way towards the door. She walked out of the room sadly, wishing that her friend didn't have to be so busy with a club that he didn't like. She missed the times when he would come over and they would chat over the sweets that she had made for him.

She looked in the direction where her friend had run off to and smiled evilly as a thought appeared in her head.

"Make a reservation, huh?"

-/-

I sighed as I cleaned off a table, looking at myself in the reflection as it started to gleam.

"What's happened to you?" I asked my copy sadly as I noticed just how different I looked. Not like I had never noticed it before, but today it seemed to just stand out to me more than usual.

I spaced out as I continued to stare at my reflection, watching as it painfully stared back at me, but jumped in surprise when Kyoya's appeared next to mine.

"Thinking to yourself?" he asked in a mock tone and pushed up his glasses.

I let out the tense breath that I didn't even know I was holding and tightened my grip on the towel in my hand. I _really_ wasn't looking forward to him being a smartass today.

He brushed his bangs out of his face, not bothering to let me answer. "Think to yourself on your own time. You have a guest."

I raised my eyebrow and checked my watch, poking it a few times to see if it was broken.

"I don't have a guest until 3:30, it's only 2:55." I stated. "That's why I'm cleaning tables, remember?"

Kyoya flicked me in the head. "Don't think I'm stupid, I know that. But a lovely lady has just requested you. She says she's your friend."

I raised my eyebrow at him suspiciously. That was weird; I didn't have any friends that would come to a place like this.

Kyoya turned on his heel, motioning for me to follow him.

I rolled my eyes and slung the towel over my shoulder, following him to whoever supposedly had requested me.

We stopped a few tables over and he pointed towards the one that had my guest. He pushed me a little as a request to hurry up so that the club didn't lose profit, and I rolled my eyes in annoyance as I walked to my table, throwing the towel over to another table lazily.

As I walked I saw the back of the girl's head, but nothing more for she was facing away from me. She had short blond hair that stopped at her shoulders and she poked at her teacup, seeming to either be bored or nervous. Something about her seemed familiar, but I still couldn't place my finger on where I knew this girl. Like I said, the friends I knew would _never_ come here.

I pulled a black rose out of the inside of my jacket and held it out to my guest, leaning in next to her for what Tamaki called an "effective side glance".

"Hello, gorgeous. Welcome to the-"

Lacey turned around and cocked an eyebrow at me. I screamed and fell on my ass, scrambling backwards and pointing my finger at her in shock. My mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water as I tried to find the right words to say, but the complete shock that I felt choked down any words that I had in mind.

"W-What, what, w-what-" I stammered as I tried desperately to fully understand what was happening.

Once my thoughts collected for a moment and I realized just what the hell was going on, I gulped and stood up shakily, my knees wobbling under me for I was still in shock.

"L-Lacey, what the _hell_ are you doing here?!"

The blonde looked at me innocently and smiled. "I came to see you at your work!"

She stood up and smoothed out her dress, looking around the huge faded pink room. "It's really pretty in here."

"L-Lacey," I stuttered, placing a hand on her shoulder. "P-Please go home. Y-You can talk to me every day. Hell, you can text me!"

Lacey raised an eyebrow at me. "Yeah but it's not the same. Remember how you always used to come over to my house and we would talk while we ate sweets?"

I gulped. "Y-Yeah."

"Well this is just like it, don't you think? Since you've been too busy to come over I figured I'd come over instead!" She sheepishly looked over her shoulder at the twin's table and smiled back at me. "And besides," she whispered, "Those twins are _really_ hot!"

I sweat dropped as the corners of my mouth twitched in annoyance. "Then go request them." I offered.

Lacey grabbed my rattail and yanked it violently, wrapping it around her hand like rope and thrashing my head around. "No way!" she exclaimed, "I came here to see you! I'll request them next time!"

I winced in pain as she jerked my head around by my hair. I _hated_ it when she pulled on my hair like this, it was always so _painful_.

"What do you mean _next time_?" I stressed and she pulled my head up so that I could look at her.

"Baka-kun, it means that I'm going to be coming back!"

"E-Eh?!"

I felt a hand touch my shoulder and I turned my head as much as I could to see who had come to rescue me, hoping that Lacey wouldn't tear my poor head off of my body. My _knight-and-shining-armor _was of course no other than the smartass Shadow King himself, his glasses gleaming and his lips in a dull straight line as usual.

"I will have to ask you to kindly release my apprentice's hair." he said sternly and Lacey did as told, backing up a few steps in fear of the man in front of her.

I rubbed the back of my head where my rattail was and I sighed out of relief. "Thanks Kyo-Kyo."

Kyoya scowled at his nickname and flicked my forehead in annoyance. I rubbed the place where he had flicked and pouted. I just couldn't catch a break with pain today, could I?

Lacey gave a smile and grabbed my arm, pulling me next to her so that she could hug me tightly. I chocked as she slowly crushed my ribs and my chibi soul slowly flew away as I went limp and paper-like.

"But I love Mai-Kun! I always torture him like this! He's used to it," she looked down at me with a smile, "right?"

I nodded slowly and tried to pry her hands off of my so that I could breath. "R-Right."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow and pushed up his glasses, hiding whatever expression he held on his face behind an emotionless gleam. He opened his black book and quickly jotted something down, then closed it with an angry snap and turned on his heel.

"Get to work, Mai. You have a lot of guests today."

And with that harsh statement said, he walked away to tend to the profit of the club on his laptop in silence.

I watched him go and raised an eyebrow suspiciously. Why had he become so angry all of a sudden? Was I not allowed to bring my friends in as guests? And if so, it wasn't my fault! I didn't tell Lacey to randomly show up and request me! If anything I thought it was extremely embarrassing for her to be here! I mean, just the thought of being a host to girls that I didn't know was embarrassing, and now my best friend was here! That's almost as embarrassing as when you write a fanfiction and your relatives decide to read it! **(A/N: Hint Hint. You know who you are.)**

I shook my head at the Shadow King and turned my attention back to Lacey who had kindly let me go so that I could properly breathe and not die on the faded pink floor.

I rubbed my neck awkwardly as we both sat down, and I poured tea for her as I always did for my guests and I pulled a box of Pocky out of my jacket pocket.

"Want some?" I offered.

Lacey shook her head politely and took a small sip of her tea. "So, is this all you do? You just sit here and talk to girls you don't know?"

I took an angry bite out of a Pocky stick and rested my head on my hand. "Pretty much. It really sucks."

"I've noticed that ever since you've joined this place you speak properly."

I sighed and rubbed my head. "Which also sucks."

"And you haven't been getting into any fights. How long has it been since your last one? Two, three months?"

I pulled on my rattail. "Which also sucks."

Lacey gave a small smile and sipped her tea again. "I think this place might be good for you, Mai."

I raised an eyebrow and looked at my friend suspiciously. "What do you mean?"

Lacey shrugged her shoulders and looked at the Shadow King. He was alone, as usual, typing away on his laptop about god knows what, and his glasses gleamed their emotionless gleam and his face was still and dull. Lacey smiled and looked back at me, and then she gave a short chuckle and stood up, placing her teacup back on her plate and smoothing out her dress as she always did.

"I'll be off now." she said and placed a hand on my head. "See you tomorrow. I hope you have fun being a host today."

She walked away with her hands behind her back, but before she left she whispered something in Kyoya's ear, and then laughed as she bounded out of the great doors of the Host Club.

I watched as Kyoya was still for a moment, and then he closed his laptop slowly and took off his glasses, wiping them on his jacket and erasing the emotionless gleam to them. He looked up at me for a moment and then quickly looked away, putting his glasses back on and standing up, shoving his hands into his jacket pockets and walking away casually as if nothing had happened.

I watched him walk out of the room and ate another Pocky stick, wondering just what the hell Lacey had told him and what was on his mind.

I could only wonder if my eyes were deceiving me or not when I thought I had seen a slight blush on his face when he looked at me, but I soon dismissed it as just an illusion for I knew that Kyoya never blushed, no matter what.

But the question still remained, what had Lacey said to him? And what did she mean when she said that this club would be good for me?

-/-

I stretched and slung my bag over my shoulder as my job at the Host Club was done and everyone was packing up for the day.

"Yo, Pretty Boy, I'm heading out. I'll see you tomorrow." I called to Tamaki and waved my hand in the air.

He looked over at me from carrying a tea tray and nodded. "Alright, son. See you tomorrow!"

I rolled my eyes at the "son" part and walked away, humming a song softly to myself so that I wouldn't be bored on the way home. I opened the doors and stepped outside, but ran into something, or _someone_, on my way out.

I rubbed my head as I looked up from my place on the floor and saw Kyoya standing over me, smirking as he saw me on the ground. He held out his hand politely as the smirk faded and I took it gratefully and smiled as he hoisted me up onto my feet.

"Sorry for bumping into you." I said, "I was distracted. I didn't see you there."

Kyoya pushed up his glasses. "It's no problem. Just be more careful next time."

I nodded and shoved my hands into my pockets. I looked up at him and raised an eyebrow, noticing that he wasn't making eye contact with me but looking away with an angry glare.  
Was he actually angry that I had bumped into him?

"Hey, are you ok?" I asked curiously, trying to catch at least a glimpse from him.

He nodded and slinked a hand through his bangs. "Of course, why do you ask?"

"Because you won't look at me."

Kyoya sighed and finally looked me in the eyes, but for the first time his eyes were pained with a hint of something else glistening in them. Was it anger, or hate? Maybe both…

I frowned as I saw how upset he was, and _I _soon became upset as well for I didn't know what was wrong with my mentor. Sure I sometimes fought with him because he was a smartass, but I absolutely hated it when he was in a bad mood like this. It always made me wonder what was wrong and why he was sad, but he would always brush it off as either being tired or he would just completely change the subject.

That was one annoying thing about Kyoya, he always hid his emotions. But maybe that was one thing that we had in common.

"Kyoya…really…what's wrong?" I asked sadly.

Kyoya looked down at me and shook his head. "Nothing, I'm fine."

I clenched my fists in my pockets and I stared him down. "No you're not. I can always tell when you're in a bad mood. Did I do something wrong?"

"I don't have time for this." he said and reached for the door knob so that he could leave me and help the hosts clean up.

I grabbed his hand and he looked at me, his glasses holding their emotionless gleam to hide what he was truly feeling.

"Let go."

I shook my head and tightened my grip. "Not until you tell me what I did wrong."

Kyoya grit his teeth and looked back at the door, pondering his words for a moment and thinking of a lie to tell me. He straightened and cleared his throat, avoiding my eye gaze the whole time.

I glared at him and my grip tightened again. There was no way that I was going to let him get away without him telling me what was wrong. If I did something to upset him, then I wanted to know what it was so that I could fix it.

A harsh silence fell upon us and I felt like I was being strangled by the anger alluding from him, his scowl growing deeper as he glared at the door in front of him.

"That blonde girl that came today…who was she?" he asked suddenly, but it was a demand, not a question.

I blinked a few times and looked at him curiously. "Her name is Lacey, why?"

"You seem to be very fond of her."

"Uh, she's my best friend if that's what you mean."

Kyoya glared at me from the corner of his eye. "Do not lie to me. She's your girlfriend, isn't she?"

I let go off him and rubbed my head. "Man, why does everyone think that?" I sighed to myself. "Listen, Kyoya, she's my best friend, nothing more than that." I laughed as I tried to imagine it and found it just extremely hilarious to be anything other than friends with her. Jeez, if only people knew that I was a girl.

Kyoya raised an eyebrow at me. "What's so funny?"

I covered my mouth as I continued to chuckle, and then I cleared my throat and smiled at him. "It would just be really weird if Lacey was anything other than a friend to me."

"How so?"

I waved my hand in the air dismissively. "Because I'm not interested in girls."

I gasped and bit my tongue, realizing what I had just said and who I had said it to. I gulped as Kyoya looked at me, his glasses sparking with curiosity and his fingers twitching for his pen and black book. I shook in my loose shoes as I pulled my hand back to cover my mouth, staring at my mentor with wide, terrified, eyes.

"You're gay?" he asked quietly and smirked, thinking that he had stumbled onto a huge secret of mine.

My mind raced as my eyes darted around the hallway and I tried desperately to think of something to say.

What would I tell him? What _could_ I tell him?!

If I played along that I was gay then would he hang a fake secret over my head for the rest of my life? It technically wasn't a totally lie, because I did like guys after all, but Kyoya didn't know that I was a girl! He thought I was a total guy! But now that he had stumbled upon this false secret, what would he do?!

I gulped and shoved my hands in my pockets, backing up a few steps and looking at the ground in embarrassment.

This situation _seriously _wasn't good.

Kyoya covered his mouth with his hand in a desperate attempt not to laugh, but failed as he saw how embarrassed and timid I was.

"No wonder the twins started using you in their game." he chuckled out and took off his glasses, wiping them on his jacket and chuckling out a few more laughs before he wiped his eye and put his glasses back on.

"J-Just…don't tell anyone…alright?" I pleaded, not wanting anyone to stumble upon this false secret that I had created.

Kyoya nodded and opened the door. "Sure, whatever."

I sighed out of relief and turned on my heel, beginning to walk away before I remembered something. "Oh wait, why were you so upset when you thought that Lacey was my girlfriend?"

Kyoya frowned and tightened his grip on the door handle.

He turned to me and smiled his cold smile. "Because if you have a girlfriend that visits you in the Host Club, you tend to start neglecting your other guests." he said. "We would lose profit."

He walked inside the clubroom and closed the door behind him, leaving his words hanging in the air and buzzing in my head.

I turned on my heel and began walking again, sighing to myself and continuing to hum silently.

'_Just for profit, huh?' _I thought to myself as I walked down the stairs. _'I guess some things will never change.'_

* * *

**Ugh I'm so glad I got this chapter done.**

**Sorry for my absence, I've either been busy or not in the mood to write anything.**

**So, Christmas is in two days! Awesomeness!**

**I hope you all have happy holidays!**

**I'm on winter break, so I might be able to update soon. I dunno yet. It depends on whether certain people keep on reading my fanfics or not *cough* *cough*.**

**Anyway, if I don't get a chance to update then I wish you all a happy New Year and I hope you have fun celebrating!**

**Don't forget to follow, favorite, and review, ok?**

**-Maiya Tsuki Takahashi**


	10. Chapter 10

**Hello fellow fanfictioners!**

**Have you missed me? Probably not…**

**I hope everyone had a happy new year! I can't believe I survived until 2013! It still seems like December though =w=;**

**Anyway, thank you all for the reviews! It means so much to me when I read a nice review, and it means even more to me for this story because I thought that it would only survive about 3 chapters before everyone hated it!**

**I'm so glad that you all really like this story ; w ;**

**So, without further ado, I shall say sit back, relax, and enjoy this next chapter!**

* * *

Kyoya sighed as he shoved an outfit towards me and pushed up his glasses.

"What the hell is this?" I asked as I took it in my hands, inspecting it and eyeing it suspiciously.

"It's your costume for the day." he said blankly. "Go get dressed."

I rolled my eyes and walked into the dressing room, hanging it up on one of the walls so I could see it more clearly. I sweat dropped as I noticed the theme for the day and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Pirates?" I mumbled to myself and glared at the costume. "You've _got_ to be kidding me. I think they're just running out of ideas."

I slid my normal clothes off comfortably and hung them up, grabbing my outfit for the day and slipping it on.

And that's when I noticed something extremely weird about it.

It had no top…

I frantically looked on the floor, fearing I had dropped it, but when I couldn't find it anywhere I knew that this was simply the way that the outfit was supposed to be. This was not good; this was simply just _not good_. Ok sure I had my chest taped up (and I really didn't have that much of a chest to begin with), but if someone asked about the bandages, what was I supposed to say?

"Oh, I'm actually a girl pretending to be a guy so I tape my chest back!"

No.

I gulped as I slid my white button up shirt back on and stepped outside, earning weird glances from the hosts around me.

"Why are you still wearing your uniform shirt?" asked Kyoya, walking up to me.

"U-uh…" I stuttered, trying to think of an answer. "I felt more comfortable with it on, y'know? I think it looks quite nice with these pants, actually. It really brings out the pirate in the outfit!"

Kyoya rolled his eyes and sighed. "Don't try and change to outfit to your liking. We customized this outfit just for you."

He grabbed the first button on my shirt and began to unbutton it, and I blushed a bright red and almost screamed. I grabbed his hands before he could move onto the next button and he gave me a suspicious look.

"T-That's not a good idea!" I stammered and pushed him away, buttoning the button he had undone. "I-I'm really uncomfortable with the thought of taking my shirt off in front of others!"

I gulped and tried to hide my blush as I saw him snicker and try not to laugh.

'_Oh, that's right…" _I thought as I turned away in embarrassment. '_He thinks I'm gay…'_

I whirled around and gave him a suspicious look as I remembered what he had just said. "Wait, who customized this outfit for me?"

Kyoya pushed up his glasses. "The twins, of course. They deal with all of the costumes."

I slowly turned around to where the twins were, my eyebrow twitching in anger and purple aura emitting off of me and filling the room.

"Hikaru…Kaoru…" I hissed as I saw them on the floor laughing, unable to catch their breaths.

I grabbed Kaoru by the collar of the shirt and hoisted him up off the floor in pure rage, raising my fist back so that I could properly hit him in the face. Kaoru shielded his face with his hands and Hikaru jumped up and grabbed my raised arm, protecting his twin from my powerful blow.

"You two think you're just oh-so-flunking-funny!" I yelled as I snagged Hikaru by the collar of the shirt and brought him next to his twin.**(A/N: Yes, I have censored the popular "F" word with 'flunking'. That's what happens when you have family that reads your fanfics.)**

Hikaru and Kaoru gaped up at my angry face with scared eyes. They had _never_ seen me get this mad before.

"I-It was just a tiny joke, honest!" Hikaru stuttered, trying to pry my hand off of him.

"Yeah! We have an extra shirt for you to change into! J-Just let us go grab it!" Kaoru did the same as his twin.

I threw the twins on the ground and brushed my hands off, glaring at them.

"Go get it." I growled and they ran out of the room quickly to do as told before I killed them.

The hosts watched the twins run away in fear and then stared at me in shock, not knowing why I had become so angry all of a sudden.

I smirked as I placed my hands on my hips victoriously, feeling quite good about myself for I hadn't done anything violent in a long time.

My feelings of victory were soon erased though as I felt the familiar pain on my head from the ruler that I hadn't gotten a swift smack from in over a week. I held my head in pain and looked up at the source of it only to find the Shadow King glaring at me through his glasses.

"I thought I made it clear to you that there was absolutely _no_ violence in the Host Club whatsoever." he stated coldly.

I rolled my eyes and rubbed the place on my head where he had hit. "If there's supposed to be no violence, then why do you go around hitting me on the head with a ruler?"

"That's different!" Kyoya snapped, "I do that so that you can learn discipline."

"Discipline with a ruler?" I scoffed. "You might as well treat me like a dog and squirt me with water when I'm bad!"

"That actually might not be such a bad idea." Kyoya glared at me. "Sometimes you act no better than a mutt, so I don't see much of a difference."

I whirled around angrily and pointed my finger at him, ready to yell and cuss him out, when the twins ran in with the shirt I had requested.

"Here!" said Kaoru, shoving it towards me and throwing me in the dressing room. "Hurry up and change! We have to open the doors in three minutes!"

I sighed and did as told, slipping on the shirt and hanging my previous one up with the rest of my uniform. I stood in front of the mirror and frowned as I fixed my outfit, playing with the sleeves and occasionally brushing off the pants just to make sure I looked presentable. I bit my lip as Kyoya's words rung in head, taunting me and cracking my heart slowly and painfully. I leaned in closer to the mirror and looked myself in the eyes, frowning as I could see the pain behind their soft blue gaze.

Kyoya's words stabbed me like sharp arrows as I looked down at my feet in disgust of myself.

"Am I really no better than a dog that needs to be disciplined?" I mumbled sadly.

My head snapped up in awareness as I heard one of the twins call out, "Mai-kun! Come out so we can see the outfit! How long does it take to change a shirt?!"

I ran out and closed the curtain behind me. "S-Sorry I…" I glanced at Kyoya before returning my gaze to the floor. "I got distracted."

"Well Daddy thinks you look amazing!" cooed Tamaki as he bounded over to me for a hug.

Normally when Tamaki would try to snag a hug from me I would move out of the way so that he would fall or I would hold out my arm to block him. But this time I just stood there an accepted it, not moving an inch and letting the blonde hug me as much as he wanted.

Tamaki noticed this and quickly let go, looking down at me in confusion.

"My poor son, are you alright?" he asked sadly, turning my head to look at him.

I pushed his hands off of my face and turned away. "I'm just fine. Go open the doors for the guests."

I shuffled slowly to my table and sat down, sighing and resting my head in my hands.

Kyoya watching the young red head as he sat at his table, waiting for customers, but unlike usual he wasn't opening a box of Pocky or beginning to munch on a bag of gummy worms. He was just…sitting there.

-/-

I waved my last guest off politely and smiled, watching as she left the Host Club with a happy blush on her face. I sighed as my fake smile turned into a frown, and I walked into the dressing room to get changed back into my normal clothes. I hung my costume back up on its hanger and walked out of the dressing room sadly, shoving my hands into my pockets and walking up to Tamaki's table where he was happily entertaining a guest.

Tamaki noticed the pouting boy in front of him and raised an eyebrow. "Yes, my son? What is it? I'm a little busy at the moment."

I looked at his guest and nodded in apology before looking at the floor again. "I was just wondering if I could head home early. I'm done with all my guests for the day and I don't really have a reason to stay…"

"Nonsense!" cried Tamaki, raising a sparkling hand. "You always have a reason to be here, my son! Why, you can help us by making more instant coffee, or polishing the tables, or-"

Tamaki saw the glazed look in my eyes and stopped, realizing that I would rather be anywhere than here. Why I was so upset, he didn't know, but he had a hunch it had something to do with the incident between me and the twins.

Tamaki sighed and waved me off, returning his attention back to his guest. "I think it's a wonderful idea for you to go home early. Growing boys need their rest, after all."

I mumbled thank you and walked away, my gaze never leaving the floor as I sadly made my way out of the great doors of the Host Club. A cold hand grabbed my shoulder and turned me around, and I looked up to find Kyoya scowling at me.

My brows furrowed in anger as I clenched my fists in my pockets and glared at him. I _really_ wasn't in the mood for smartasses right now.

"Where do you think you're going?" he growled and crossed his arms.

I rolled my eyes. "I'm going home. Tamaki said I could. So if you would just kindly leave me alone, I'll see you tomorrow, jackass."

I walked out before Kyoya could hit me with the ruler again and growled. I had wanted to call him more than a jackass, but I figured that words would get me nowhere and I would end up just becoming even angrier.

Kyoya followed me out of the club and furrowed his brows. "What is your problem today?"

I quickened my pace to try and shake him, but his long legs kept up with my short ones without even trying. I glared at him from the corners of my eyes and resisted the urge to slap him.

"I'm fine, Kyoya. Go back to work."

"I have no guests waiting for me. I'm just waiting for the rest of the hosts to be finished."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah? Well go wait somewhere else. I'm going home and you're not allowed there."

Kyoya pushed up his glasses and followed me down the stairs. "Why are you so angry today?"

I stopped once I got to the bottom of the stairs and sighed. If he honestly didn't know, then he was a bigger idiot than I originally thought. Sure, maybe I was overreacting to this whole situation, but whoever said that words can't hurt must have been dropped as a baby. Honestly, sometimes words could hurt more than fists, and I should know, I've been hit by many fists.

I knew that I might not be as important as the other hosts and I could be considered no better than a mutt at times, but honestly hearing it from others hurt a lot. I had come to accept myself as a failure, but I honestly didn't mind. It was better to accept myself for my faults than run from them, and I knew for a fact that I really didn't amount to much.

But when other people pointed it out, it just hurt, especially hearing it from Kyoya.

I looked up at him with angry eyes and grit my teeth. "Because you're stupid, that's why."

He raised an eyebrow. "Me? What did I do?"

I clenched my fists at my sides and growled. He was _seriously _getting on my nerves now.

"Why don't you figure it out Mr. I'm-so-smart-and-better-than-everyone-else."

Kyoya's face grew angry and his glasses gleamed to hide his eyes. "Now you listen here-"

"No, _you _listen!" I cut him off, "I don't go to the host club everyday just to be insulted by jackasses who think they're better than me, so unless you still want to compare me to a flunking mutt then I'm not going to listen to you!"

Kyoya smirked and crossed his arms. "You're seriously mad about _that_?" he scoffed. "With the way you act, I could've called you _much_ worse than a mutt."

"With the way _I_ act?" I snapped and pointed at him angrily. "What about the way _you_ act?! I may act like a no good low life, but at least I'm honest about myself! I accept that I'm not important, but _you-" _I chuckled and shook my head in disgust, "-_you_ just walk around like you're better than everyone else, when you're _not_! You're exactly the same as any of us here! You're no more important than any of the other hosts!"

I turned on my heel angrily and turned my back towards him. "So I suggest that you stop acting like you have a ten foot stick up your sorry ass and finally accept that I'm no more of a mutt than you are."

I left those angry words in the air and darted down the hallway, turning a corner and out of sight of the surprised Shadow King.

He stood there for a while, his arms crossed and his glasses gleaming in anger and hatred. No one had ever spoken to him like that before; no one had the courage to! He stared off into the empty hallway where the young red head had run off and sighed, slinking a hand through his soft hair. He shoved his hands into his jacket pockets as he walked back to the host club, being automatically greeted by Haruhi who was carrying a tea tray for the twins.

She raised an eyebrow as she saw Kyoya's blank expression, because it wasn't the normal blank expression that she was used to seeing. Instead it seemed like he had been shocked to a point where his face was hollow and uncertain, holding the hurt curiosity inside his eyes that he would never show. She shrugged it off and continued walking, not wanting to anger him further and figuring that he would get over it in time like he always did.

Kyoya slumped into his seat and stared at his open laptop, pondering the young boy's words that had been screamed at him furiously. The Shadow King made a face of disgust as he remembered the poor boy's angry words, and he looked at the ruler that was next to his bag and frowned. He picked it up and tapped it on the table a few times, remembering the times that he would hit his apprentice on the head when he would screw something up.

His face twisted in anger as Mai's words kept replaying in his head, cracking his patience and his sanity. He stood up from his seat and threw the ruler across the room where it hit the wall with an angry 'clack' before falling to the cold floor.

The twins stared at him as he gathered his things and marched over to Tamaki, telling him that he had an important matter to attend to at home and that he would be leaving. He stormed out of the room with an angry expression, leaving a harsh tension in the air and a limp ruler on the ground.

The twins stared at each other in wonder and each raised an eyebrow.

"What do you think _that_ was about?" questioned Hikaru, looking back at the door that the Shadow King had stormed out of.

Kaoru shrugged his shoulders. "I'm not really sure." He turned and smirked at his twin. "But Mai-kun was pretty mad, too."

The famous Cheshire grin spread upon Hikaru's face as he looked at his twin with an evil glint in his eyes. "I say we find out why those two are so angry."

Kaoru grinned evilly in anticipation. "Do you think they're fighting?"

Hikaru chuckled and placed his hands behind his head. "Only one way to find out."

* * *

**I'm really glad I got this chapter finished, but I am really sad because it's so short. AH! CONFLICTING EMOTIONS!**

***sigh* anyway, I hope you all liked this chapter even though it was dramatic, not funny.**

**Next week I have to go back to school and hang out with evil people. *shudders***

**Oh, by the way, if any of you guys know what Vocaloid is, can you check out my oneshot called "Two Years"? Even if you don't know Vocaloid, it would mean a lot to me if you read it.**

**Thanks guys!**

**Don't forget to favorite, follow, and review!**

**-Maiya Tsuki Takahashi**


	11. Chapter 11

**Hello fellow fanfictioners. (I always start off like that…)**

**Guess who's depressed again? Meee~**

**And you all know I write when I get depressed, so here's another chapter for you.**

**Thank you all for the lovely reviews! You guys are just so friken awesome, it's unbelievable! With every chapter I post I'm getting more and more reviews and to top it off, not one single review has been bad so far! Thank you all so much!**

**So without further ado, sit back, relax, and enjoy!**

* * *

I sighed deeply and picked a rose from a rose bush, being careful not to cut myself on any thorns. I twirled the rose in between my fingers and rested my head on my knees as I curled into a ball. Today had been a long day at school, and I was worn down and tired. Don't get me wrong, the classes were the same as they always were, but my mood was still down in the dumps since the fight with Kyoya yesterday. When I was trying to work on my class work, his words kept stabbing at my brain and refused to go away. Soon, after trying to fight back my sorrow for hours on end, I just gave up for the day and decided that I was going to be lazy and just finish my work at home or just not finish it at all. That's what mutts like me do after all, right?

I dug my phone out of my pocket as it rang and sighed as I read the caller I.D.

"What do you want?" I asked as I answered it miserably.

"Where are you?" asked Hikaru on the other line. I could just hear the annoyed tone in his voice.

I sighed and looked back at the rose in my hand. Currently I was hiding in the place where I always went when I wanted to be alone. I was somewhere in the rose-maze, secluded from the rest of the rich students that were inside.

"I'm just somewhere, don't worry about it."

Hikaru grumbled. "You were supposed to be here thirty minutes ago! Your first guests just arrived!"

"Oh," I sighed and ran a hand through my bangs, "I forgot to mention, I'm not coming today. Please cancel all my appointments for the day. Thanks Hikaru."

"What? No! Wait, Mai don't ha-"

I closed my phone and shoved it back in my pocket, sighing deeply as I rested my head back onto the tall bush I was leaning against. Today just wasn't a good day.

-/-

"What do you mean he's not coming today?" demanded an angry Kyoya, crossing his arms.

"That's what he said! He told me to cancel all his appointments for the day because he's not going to show up!" said Hikaru, waving his arms in the air dramatically.

Kyoya clenched his fist and shook it in an intimidating way. "Why, that little punk!"

Hikaru and Kaoru hid behind the couch and peered out from the sides. When Kyoya was angry, it was best to just leave him alone.

Kyoya calmed down and pushed his glasses up, their evil gleam returning to hide his eyes.

"Hikaru, Kaoru," he said and turned to them, a purple aura emitting off of him with pure rage, signaling that he was still upset but just hiding it. "You two don't have an appointment for another hour. Go find him and drag him back."

Hikaru gulped and rose to his feet. "But he could be anywhere, Kyoya!"

"Yeah!" chimed Kaoru, rising to his feet to stand by his twin. "He could even be at home by now!"

Kyoya's lips twitched into an angry frown and the twins stiffened, backing away a few feet to avoid Kyoya's angry glare.

"_W-We'll get on it right away!"_ they stuttered and ran out of the room, scared for their poor lives.

Kyoya sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets, gritting his teeth in an attempt to calm down. Wherever Mai was right now, he better watch out, because now he was going to get the punishment of a life time.

-/-

"Try calling her again." Kaoru nudged his twin on the arm.

"I'm trying, she won't pick up." said Hikaru in annoyance, redialing their friend's number and listening to the endless ringing from the other line.

Hikaru jumped in surprise when the girl's harsh voice answered the phone with "Why the hell do you keep calling me? I'm not coming, leave me alone!"

"I know you're not coming! Don't hang up!" said Hikaru, putting the phone on speaker so that Kaoru could be in on the conversation.

Hikaru heard the girl sigh. "Then what do you want?"

"Where are you?"

Mai scoffed. "Oh, please, I'm not stupid. Kyoya's probably listening to us talk and when he finds out where I am he's going to come get me and drag me back."

"He's not listening, I promise! He sent Kaoru and me to come look for you."

"Oh," said the girl, her voice dripping with sarcasm, "So once _you two_ find out where I am _you'll_ drag me back."

"No we won't!" yelled Kaoru, snatching the phone away from his twin. "We just want to know where you are so we can talk to you. We'll tell Kyoya that we couldn't find you, we promise."

"Can I really trust you two when you promise something?" Mai asked blankly.

"Not normally, no. But you can trust us this time!"

There was a pause from the girl on the other line and the twins thought that she had hung up, but when they heard her sigh hesitantly they knew she was still there.

"I'm in the rose-maze. Meet me at the front. I only want to talk to one twin, two is too many."

Hikaru sighed as there was a faint beeping noise from the other line and he shoved his phone back into his pocket and turned to his twin.

"What are we going to tell Kyoya when only one of us comes back?" he asked.

Kaoru shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know, but I'll think of something. You go talk to Mai, I'll talk to Kyoya."

"Are you sure?" Hikaru asked sympathetically. Sure he'd rather talk to Mai than Kyoya any day, but he felt bad for his twin and didn't want him to get hurt.

Kaoru nodded and gave a thumbs up. "Don't worry, I'll be fine! And besides, we gotta figure out what's wrong with those two before things get worse."

Hikaru grinned and his eyes shone with curiosity. "You know how much I _love_ getting into peoples personal business."

Kaoru smirked and held the same look as his twin. "As do I."

-/-

Hikaru smiled and ran up to his friend as he saw her waiting at the front of the rose-maze like she said she would be.

"Mai-chan!" he greeted me with a hug.

I pushed him off and nodded my head. "Why do you want to talk to me?" I asked, getting down to the point.

Hikaru smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I noticed you were in a bad mood yesterday and you left early, and today you didn't even show up, so…"

I rolled my eyes. Is that really all he wanted to talk about? That sucked, I was hoping it would be something more interesting than that.

"Yeah, I'm in a bad mood and I didn't feel like going to the club today." I said blankly. "What about it?"

"Well, why are you in a bad mood?"

"That doesn't concern you."

Hikaru raised an eyebrow. "Are you and Kyoya fighting?"

I stiffened as he pinpointed exactly why I was mad, and I saw his face light up in excitement.

"I knew that was it!" he cheered and clasped his hands together. "You two are having a lovers quarrel!"

I clenched my hands at my sides and my eyebrow twitched in anger. "It's not a lovers quarrel." I growled through grit teeth, feeling my anger rise within me. "I hate that damned bastard with all my heart."

"Oh, hate, love, it's like the same thing." Hikaru cooed, waving his hand in the air.

I pinched the bridge of my nose and sighed in an attempt to calm down. "It is not the same thing. I hate Kyoya because he's a selfish know-it-all and annoys the hell out of me."

Hikaru made a small 'aw' sound and sat down, feeling the soft grass underneath his fingers. I did the same and leaned back on a tall bush, trying to calm my rising anger. Honestly, when I was angry it was best to just leave me alone and let me sort out whatever was bugging me.

"So, why are you and Kyoya fighting? Did he say something?"

I glared at the ground as I remembered his harsh words, hearing them taunt me and mock me as I tried desperately to shoo them away.

"He…said I was no better than a mutt…" I said slowly, raising my eyes to look it Hikaru.

He raised an eyebrow. "That's it?" he questioned. "Kyoya always says things like that! You can't take it to heart."

I frowned and tugged my rattail gently.

"He always looks at me like I'm some idiot…some screw up that doesn't deserve to be in his presence." I sighed and shook my head. "I know he's right…I am no better than a mutt, and I've always told myself that, but…" I looked down sadly, "It just hurts when _other_ people can see that I'm a failure, too."

Hikaru frowned. "You're not a failure."

I gave a sad smile. "Oh please, I've always been told that I was no good. I've come to accept that fact." My fake smile cracked into a sad frown again and I rested my chin on my hand. "But I can't stand it when other people can see how much of a wreck I am. I hate it when people can point out how much of a failure I am." I twirled a blade of grass in between my fingers and stared at it with glazed eyes. "Normally when people would be able to point it out I'd just beat the shit out of them…"

Hikaru sighed and looked away sadly, not wanting to look at the poor girl in front of him, fearing that his heart might crack in two. It was hard for him to sit here and listen to his friend talk about how she was a failure. He didn't think she was a failure! No one should think that, especially her! From the corner of his eye he saw her rest her head in her hands, hiding her face in misery. He looked back at her sadly and placed a hand on her knee.

"Y'know, you put yourself down a lot." he said slowly, not wanting to say something wrong and have her storm off in a rage. "I always hear you talking about how you're no good and how you don't deserve anything, but I think you do. You're a really great person, y'know. If others can't see it, then I don't know what's wrong with them."

Hikaru's eyes widened as he felt the girl tremble under his hand. He couldn't see her face, but he could tell that she was crying, or at least trying not to.

"I'm always trying to tell myself that I'm not an idiot…that I'm just as great as everyone else but…" my voice was shaking miserably, "…but he just thinks I'm some idiot that messes everything up and that deserves to be stepped on. Every time he looks at me it's with disgust and hatred…"

I looked up at Hikaru with cold tears in my eyes. I didn't want to let myself cry, but I just couldn't hold it in anymore.

"Why is it that everyone I care about ends up hating me in the end?"

Hikaru's eyes widened as the girl looked away sadly, a tear escaping her glazed blue eyes. His breath was caught in his lungs as he realized what she had just said. She had just openly admitted that she cared about Kyoya!

Hikaru wanted to jump up and cheer. He didn't know what the girl meant when she said that she cared about Kyoya, but he was praying to god that she meant what he thought she meant.

Hikaru hid his smile with a blank stare and rubbed the girl's knee in sympathy. "What do you mean?" he questioned, wanting to know just what kind of "care" the girl was talking about.

I sighed and looked at him sadly. "He's kinda like a role model to me, y'know? He's like the perfect host that I want to be so I can pay my debt and leave that hell hole."

Hikaru's hidden smile faded as his heart sank. That wasn't the kind of "care" he was hoping she meant. He sighed and wiped the girl's tear off her cheek. "He won't end up hating you." he said softly. "I promise you, it takes a lot for Kyoya to absolutely hate someone. I mean, look at him and Tamaki! They're best friends and Tamaki _constantly _bugs the crap out of him!"

He held my chin and turned my head to look at him. His face held a strong sureness to it and he smiled warmly, looking at me with sparkling eyes.

"Don't you worry, Mai-chan, he won't hate you."

I nodded and hugged him gratefully, much to his surprise for I hated hugs, but he shook it off and accepted it warmly by hugging me back. I buried my face in his shoulder and sighed, clutching the back of his jacket.

"I really hope you're right."

-/-

Hikaru walked into the Host Club with pride, strutting in with a smirk on his face and a timid girl trailing close behind him at his heels.

My face was still stained by the tears I had shed, but it didn't matter, I had to apologize to Kyoya for saying such awful things to him. I looked around shyly and rubbed my arm, ducking my head to make myself seem smaller than I already was.

I spotted Kyoya sitting at a table with Kaoru, and slowly made my way towards it, the whole time being unnoticed by the two men who were talking.

Kyoya had his glasses off and he was polishing them on his jacket.

"Look, Kaoru, I'm not saying I don't care for him, because I do…" Kyoya averted his eye gaze quickly, "…more than you think…but that's not the point! The point is-"

Kyoya finally noticed me as I shyly approached him all the way, avoiding my sad blue gaze so that I wouldn't have to look him in the eyes. He hesitantly stood up and put his glasses back on. He pushed in his chair and stepped next to me, placing a hand on my shoulder, but this time his hand wasn't cold like it normally was, much to my surprise.

I looked up at him timidly and rubbed the back of my neck.

"H-Hey Senpai." I stuttered and gave a sad grin. "I-I'm really sorry that I didn't come in today and…and I'm really sorry for…" I sighed and looked back at the ground, "…y'know for…saying such awful things to you yesterday…I didn't mean to go off on you like that…I-I just-"

I gasped as my face was suddenly buried in his shirt and his arms wrapped around me in a tight embrace. At first I thought he may be attempting to suffocate me, but when I felt him lean down to bury his face in my hair, I knew he was simply hugging me.  
And then it hit me.  
Kyoya was _hugging _me. I blushed a bright red as the realization finally hit me with full force like a rock being thrown at my head. Kyoya _never_ hugged _anyone_. I mean, was it even possible for him to show the slightest bit of affection to anyone? Was it even possible for him to _care_ about anyone?

I slowly lifted my arms and hugged him back, clinging to his shirt and burying my face deeper into his soft shirt that smelled like laundry and a hint of vanilla. I smiled lightly as I knew this meant that he accepted my apology, and a heavy weight lifted off my shoulders, freeing me from my worrying. The world around me melted away as I was engulfed by his unfamiliar warmness, and I blushed even more as the only sound I heard was his heart beat in his chest. It was fast and unsure, like mine.

"You're a real fool, you know that? Thinking I was so mad that I didn't want to see you. You had me worried sick that something bad happened to you." he whispered softly, and I heard his voice rumble in his chest.

I smiled and hugged him tighter. He had actually been concerned for me.

"I'm really sorry, Senpai…I thought you didn't want to even look at me after what I said yesterday…"

Kyoya leaned back a bit to look me in the eyes. "Don't ever think that. You're my apprentice, and no matter how mad I get I'll be here to look out for you."

I smiled wide and hugged him tighter, for once being happy with the fact that he was my mentor. "Thanks, Senpai."

"Don't call me that, it sounds weird coming from you."

I nodded and let go of him, watching happily as he returned back to his old self as he pushed up his glasses and crossed his arms.

"Right, sorry, Kyo-Kyo."

His lips twitched into a small smile before he turned his head away, hiding whatever expression he had on his face. He sighed as he picked up his bag, and then ran a hand through his bangs as he mumbled, "And, I'm sorry too…for calling you a mutt. That was wrong of me."

I smiled brightly and shoved my hands in my jacket pockets, but pulled one of them out quickly as I felt a sharp pain prick my finger. I pulled the rose I had forgotten about out of my pocket and looked at it, chuckling to myself as I handed it to my mentor. He took it shyly, but I figured it was just because he was trying to be stubborn. He smiled at me one last time and put a hand on my hand, rustling my hair lightly in between his fingers.

I grinned happily and shoved my hands back in my pockets, feeling completely content with the idea of Kyoya and I being on speaking terms again.

The twins silently stood in the corner and watched the scene roll out in front of them, and they almost cheered with joy when they saw Kyoya hug Mai. They couldn't believe what they were seeing, but they kept quiet in their corner, watching everything happen and smiling every time they would see a small blush on either Mai or Kyoya's face.

Hikaru turned to Kaoru after the scene was over and smiled wide, his Cheshire grin appearing on his face again.

"You know what this means, don't you, Kaoru?"

Kaoru laughed into his hand and an evil flair glinted in his eyes. "That those two care about each other more than they think?"

Hikaru nodded and looked back at his two friends. "You do realize that we have to help them find out that they like each other, right?"

"What do you mean by 'help', Hikaru?"

Hikaru's eyes sparkled with an evil happiness as he looked at Kaoru with a wide smile. He looked about as happy as a kid in a candy store.

"Like what we did with Tamaki and Haruhi. Those two just need a little push here and there."

Kaoru sighed and rubbed his head. "Yeah, or two, or three, or possibly sixty. You do realize that those two are basically Tsunderes, right?"

"Kyoya's not a Tsundere, baka."

Kaoru rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but Mai is, and Kyoya just doesn't like anyone."

Hikaru clapped a hand on his twins shoulder and held a finger up to his lips. "Shush, Kaoru. If you don't remember, there's nothing that we aren't capable off. I'm gunna get those two together, even if it kills me."

Kaoru smiled and let out a chuckle. "Then I'll be sure to sing at your funeral."

* * *

**I am really glad I got this chapter done. I started school again, ugh! It sucks.**

**Anyway, I really hope you all liked this chapter, because I know I do!**

**I especially like the ending. Haha, funny Kaoru.**

**I hope I'll be able to post the next chapter soon, but I am being buried in homework!**

**But, I'll see you all next time and don't forget to follow, favorite, and review~!**

**-Maiya Tsuki Takahashi**


	12. Chapter 12

**Hello hello my fellow fanfictioners and welcome to another chapter of Kyoya's apprentice!**

**So, recently a group of Japanese students came to visit our school as an exchange program, and guess who I got pared up with…  
A GIRL NAMED MAI!**

**I was so happy I about jumped out of my seat! (Actually, I **_**did**_** jump out of my seat!)**

**The weird (yet awesome) thing is, is that she's just like me! She even laughs like me! God, she's so cool!**

***Ahem* anyway~ thank you for all of your lovely reviews! I love reading what you guys have to say! And a special thank you to Eibon and Lucio for helping me write this chapter! Sit back, relax, and enjoy!**

* * *

I sighed as I stared out the window and rested my head on my hand, grumbling to myself that today was going to suck and that I was probably going to die. Currently, it was 7:00am, and I was trapped inside a limo without even knowing where I was going. You see, at about six in the morning I got a call from Kyoya telling me to hurry up and to get to school. Of course, I protested (it was Sunday for God's sake!), but when he threatened me by saying he would drive all of the hosts to my house to come and pick me up, I threw on a pair of clothes and ran to the school as told. When I got there I didn't even have time to greet anyone before Kyoya and Tamaki picked me up and threw me into a limo, not telling me where we were going and deciding amongst themselves that it would be better if I didn't find out.

I groaned and rested my head on the window of the car. If there was anything worse than not knowing where you're going, it's not knowing where you're going with the hosts.

"Tired?" Kyoya asked as he pushed up his glasses, eyeing me suspiciously.

I glared at him through sleepily hazed eyes and yawned. "Very."

Kyoya held out his cup of coffee to me and smirked evilly. "Want a sip? It'll wake you right up."

I hesitated for a moment before suspiciously taking the cup, eyeing him the whole time.

"Normally I wouldn't take anything from you in fear that it was poisoned, but right now I couldn't care less."

Kyoya smirked as he watched me take a sip and choke as I made a disgusted face, and I handed the coffee back to him as I wiped my mouth, trying to rid myself from the awful taste.

"You call _that _coffee?!" I continued to wipe my mouth with my sleeve, gagging at the horrible taste. "That tastes like a cat peed in battery acid!"

Tamaki laughed and patted my head. "It's commoner's coffee! Kyoya drinks it black with a more coffee than water ratio."

"I'm a commoner, and I don't drink that awful stuff." I smacked my lips in an attempt to rid myself of the gross bitter taste. I absolutely _loved_ coffee, but right now my taste buds were screaming in agony. "I never thought I would _ever_ say this, but that coffee was disgusting!"

Kyoya shrugged and took a sip, not minding the taste at all. "You get used to it when you have to drink it every day as a host."

I shuddered and returned my eye gaze back to the window. "I'll stick with tea."

Kyoya shrugged again and took another sip. "Suit yourself."

I leaned my head on the seat of the car and closed my eyes, the hours of missed sleep from the night before were finally getting to me. I had had a long shift at the pastry shop, and I ended up arriving home later than usual because my boss made me stay after we closed to clean the place. I thought it was completely stupid that I had to stay and clean. I mean, isn't that what we have janitors for?!

I sighed sleepily as I felt myself beginning to relax and become less coherent, beginning to drift off into a peaceful dream world. I was on the bridge of falling asleep and just resting, but I didn't know which one to let myself fall victim to. I definitely needed sleep, but was it really ok for me to fall asleep in a limo with Kyoya and Tamaki watching me? Knowing the Shadow King, he would probably never let me live it down, and he might even take pictures to sell to my fangirls. I mentally shuddered at the thought and quickly opened my eyes. I _hated_ fangirls.

I yawned and rubbed my eye, figuring I would just fall asleep when we stopped at our destination. And speaking of destinations, I still didn't know where we were going.

"Hey, can you tell me where we're going now?" I asked and looked at Tamaki tiredly.

Tamaki clapped his hands together and he beamed. "We're going to the beach!"

I groaned and rested my head on the window again, feeling my body go limp and lean into the door as well.

Tamaki raised an eyebrow at me. "What's wrong, my son? Don't you like the beach?"

I closed my eyes and sighed. "Not really, no."

"Do you not know how to swim?" Kyoya asked, opening his black book and clicking his pen.

I glared at him through the corners of my eyes, too lazy to turn my head towards him, and grumbled, "I can swim just as well as the next guy. I just hate water."

Kyoya jotted something down in his book and closed it, pushing up his glasses and smirking at this new found information.

"Oh, you're like a cat!" Tamaki cooed, poking my shoulder playfully.

I shrugged him off and closed my eyes again. "I hate cats, too."

I heard Kyoya let out a short, yet evil, chuckle, and a shiver ran down my spine. When Kyoya chuckled like that, I knew that something bad was going to happen to me.

"If you hate cats, then you're just going to absolutely hate next week's theme."

I let out a depressed groan and sunk further into the door, my sadness overweighing me and causing me to curl into a ball.

"Why does life hate me?"

Kyoya chuckled again and took a sip of his rat poison- er, I mean- coffee. "Because you make it to easy."

I rolled my eyes. "Thanks, that makes me feel _so _much better."

Tamaki laughed and Kyoya simply shrugged, beginning to jot things down in his black book. Half the time I swore he was just doodling in that thing. Tamaki looked out the window and rested his head on his hand, holding a peaceful and calm look on his face. If I had a camera I would have taken a picture. I had never seen the King so calm and quiet before!

I closed my eyes again and relaxed into the door, not bothering to sit upright again or lay down on the seat. The door was pretty comfortable, now that I thought about.

'_The beach, huh?' _I thought to myself as my mind began to fade sleepily and the world around me began to melt into a silent dream. '_This really isn't good…what if someone notices I'm a girl? I'm pretty sure that even if I had my shirt off with my bandages covering me, I'd still look like a guy. I don't think anyone would notice…'_

I mentally sighed at my words that I was thinking. Sadly, everything that I was thinking was true. Even if most girls taped their chest back, you could easily still tell that they were a girl, but not me. When I taped my chest back (I didn't really have much of one to begin with) I looked like a guy, even if I had a shirt off. Sadly, I had never really made it past training bras (I blamed genetics), so even if the hosts made me take my shirt off today, I think I would be fine. I just had to make sure my bandages were tight and I didn't act suspicious.

I felt the car come to a slow stop, and I knew I had to wake up, but honestly I didn't want to. I wanted to stay here in the car and sleep while the others had fun running around playing in the water and making sand castles. I wanted to just stay here on the nice comfortable door and sleep.

Wait…the door!

I slammed onto the asphalt of the parking lot as Hikaru swung the door open from the outside, and he gasped in shock at the unexpected surprise that had popped out at him.

I groaned in pain as I sat up and rubbed my head, feeling for any blood or cuts that I might have received. Honestly, that wasn't my _smartest_ idea. Note to self, don't lean against doors.

Hikaru helped me up while his twin laughed, and I brushed myself off and rubbed my eyes sleepily. Not even _that_ had woken me up.

"Mai-kun, are you ok?" Kaoru asked in between fits of giggles.

I yawned and waved my hand in the air. "Yeah, I'm fine. Not the first time I've fallen out of a car. First time falling out of one that wasn't moving, though."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow. "What?"

I brushed him off and laughed to myself. "Oh did I say that out loud? Don't worry, just forget about it."

Before Kyoya could push for any more information, Honey leapt at me and hugged my waist tightly, almost knocking me over onto the asphalt again.

"Nee, Nee, Mai-kun, let's go get dressed so we can go play in the water!"

"U-uh, I-I don't think I'm going to play in the water today. I'll just watch you from the sand. I can stay in these clothes."

The twins smirked and slinked their arm across my shoulders, taking their golden opportunity to mess with me. Oh, how I hated them so.

"_Oh but Mai-kun, where's the fun in that? Let's go get dressed together!"_

I sweat dropped and glared at the twins from under my bangs. Of course, the only ones who knew I was a girl and they had to be the perverts. Just my luck.

"R-really, I'm comfortable with the clothes I have on." I stuttered and waved my hands in the air frantically, trying my best to get out of this awkward situation. "B-Besides, I don't even have a swimsuit."

Kyoya pushed a bag in front of my face and pushed up his glasses. "We packed one for you. Now go get dressed."

I took the bag with shaking hands and gulped. There really wasn't any way I was getting out of this situation.

I sighed and ran a hand through my bangs. Today was going to suck for sure.

"Fine," I said, "but I'm not getting dressed with any of you. I'm getting dressed by myself."

Honey gave me a questioning look and cocked his head to the side. "Why? We're all boys, except for Haru-chan."

I rubbed the back of my neck and gave a nervous laugh. I mentally cursed at Honey for making a simple scene so awkward. Honestly, what could I say now? 'Oh, because I'm actually a girl just like Haruhi, so it would be weird if I got dressed with you!'

No.

"I-I'm just…uh…" I gulped and wrung my wrist with my hand, trying desperately to come up with an excuse. "I'm….uncomfortable with my body…?"

I mentally face-palmed at my stupid excuse and the twins laughed their happy asses off and held their stomachs. A blue aura swallowed me quickly as I hung my head in shame, letting my bangs cover my eyes and shadow the rest of my face. That was the best I could come up with? …Really?

Kyoya suppressed a laugh and pushed up his glasses, hiding the amusement in his eyes.

"Very well." Although he was trying not to laugh, his voice was still deep and stern. "Haruhi and Mai will have their own dressing rooms while the other hosts can change together if they want to. Everyone grab your clothes and get changed." And with that said he walked off to the changing rooms with Mori and Honey trailing behind him. The twins got the last of their giggles out and ran after the trio, not wanting to be left out of any fun. Before Tamaki could follow, I tapped him on the shoulder and he smiled as he turned around.

"Yes, my son, what is it?"

"I was just wondering if any guests will be coming today or not."

Tamaki rustled my hair and grinned. "Nope! It's just a day at the beach!"

"W-What?" I pushed his hand off my head. "Then why was it mandatory to come?!"

Tamaki raised an eyebrow and gave me a confused look. "I never said it was. I simply told Kyoya to call you and ask you to come and if you couldn't it was fine. Why, what did he tell you?"

I stared at Tamaki for a moment before averting my eyes and swallowing hard.

"Um…nothing….I forgot, he did tell me that. I was too tired to remember it clearly." I turned on my heel and quickly made my way to the dressing room and closed the door timidly. Why had Kyoya told me it was mandatory to come?

I quickly brushed it aside and began to undress; slipping into the red and black swim trunks that Kyoya had given me. I sighed as I put my clothes in the bag that my swimsuit was in and I reluctantly held the door handle, knowing all too well that the hosts would be outside waiting. I made sure my bandages were tight and that I looked like a guy and I hung my head as I walked out of the dressing room.

Almost instantly before I could react, Tamaki lunged at me and hugged me tightly, spinning in circles.

"My son, you look so cute in that swimsuit! Who knew you could look so _adorable_?!"

I pushed him away shyly and crossed my arms, hiding myself just in case I looked the slightest bit like a girl.

"I don't look cute." I muttered, half to myself.

Honey bounded over and tugged on my hand. "Nee, nee, Mai-kun, why do you have bandages on your chest?"

I looked down in embarrassment and tried to think of an answer. I really didn't think of an answer to this question when I had the time. I bit my tongue. I really should have thought this through.

"I-I uh….have these bandages because…." I quickly took a glance at Kyoya, who was watching me with suspicious eyes, and shuddered. "B-Because I have a scar that I-I don't like showing."

Honey's eyes widened and he grasped my hand tighter. "You have a scar?! Mai-kun, did you get in a fight?! Are you ok?!"

I gave a fake laugh and waved my hand in the air. "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. It happened a while ago."

I bit my tongue as I mentally cursed for telling them such a thing. Sure, it was true that I did have a scar, but of course that wasn't the reason I was wearing the bandages. Jeez, I was so bad at coming up with excuses on the spot.

Hikaru and Kaoru wrapped their arms around my shoulders with a smirk.

"I think Mai should show us his scar." Hikaru said, poking my cheek.

Kaoru nodded. "I think so, too. Scars are pretty sexy, y'know. We could take pictures and sell them to your fangirls."

I glared at them and tensed up. Oh, how I hated the way they would try to get others to know my secret.

"I-I don't think that's such a good idea." I laughed nervously, trying desperately to escape from their evil grasp.

"Aw, why not?" Kaoru nudged my shoulder with a pouty face.

"I think it's a great idea." Hikaru did the same.

I hung my head in embarrassment and covered my red face with my hands.

"You guys are jerks." I mumbled, only loud enough for them to hear me.

They both laughed and clapped me on each shoulder. "_But that's why you love us!"_

I rolled my eyes and looked back at the other hosts. They were all starting to walk to the place where they had set up, so I followed them with my head hung low and my arms crossed over my chest. Honestly, I really didn't think that today was going to be a good day. We stopped at a place farther from the rest of the random people and everyone dropped their bag on a towel. I placed the bag that Kyoya had lent me near a small rock and sighed. I hated the beach, and somehow I knew that today I'd hate it even more.

Kyoya raised an eyebrow at me as I placed my bag down.

"Y'know, we brought a towel for you." he said, moving my bag onto the towel next to his.

"O-Oh, thank you." I said, a little suspicious at the fact that they had placed our towels next to each other.

I sighed. It was probably the twin's idea.

I laid down on my towel and rested my head in my arms. Hopefully no one would bug me and I could get away with telling them that I wanted to sunbathe, although I was never really able to get a tan for some reason. It's not like I was planning on going in the water anyway. I just wanted to stay here, where it was nice and dry, and take a much needed nap.

"Not going in the water?" I heard Kyoya ask.

I opened my eyes and looked up at him. I immediately regretted doing so.

His bangs hung loosely in front of his face and the sun made his glasses sparkle and accentuate his dark eyes. He had taken his shirt off and had it slung over his shoulder, showing off the six-pack that I didn't know he had. The sun shone from behind him and highlighted him perfectly as he turned to look at me, a small smirk plastered on his flawless face.

I felt my face heat up, and I quickly looked away, knowing far too well that I was blushing. I didn't know why I was blushing though. It was probably just because the sun was causing all the color to go to my cheeks. Yeah, that sounded about right. I mean, it's not like I actually thought Kyoya looked attractive or anything. That would just be gross!

"No, I think I'll stay here where it's dry and tap a nap."

I yawned and nestled into my arms again. The heat from the sand was already making me sleepy.

Kyoya shrugged and sat down, pulling a book out from his bag and flipping to the page where he had left off. I turned my head towards him and raised an eyebrow.

"Not going in the water?" I mimicked with a small smirk.

He looked at me from the brim of his glasses. "Hm? Oh, no, I don't really care for ocean water. I'd rather read and watch over everyone and make sure they stay safe."

I chuckled. "Wow, you really are the mom of the Host Club."

He smacked the back of my head with his book and growled. "Do not call me that."

"Yes mother." I sniggered, and he smacked me again. I laughed and rubbed the back of my head. It was worth it.

I nestled my head into my arms again and closed my eyes. The sound of the crashing waves was really soothing and the heat from the sand warmed me and made me sleepy. I yawned and finally relaxed again, hearing the sounds of the outside world blend in my ears and begin to fade as my mind began to drift off into a silent dream land. I felt someone poke me but I ignored it, figuring it was just Kyoya trying to see if I was really asleep or not. This time the person shook me awake, yanking me out of my groggy rest and back to a harsh reality. I groaned and looked up at the source of my awareness.

Haruhi leaned over me and smiled as I opened my eyes. "Mai-Kun, let's go take a walk and look for shells."

I buried my face in my arms. "No, I dun wanna." I protested like a child. Seriously, was a nap too much to ask for?

She tugged on my rattail and pulled my head up to look at her. "C'mon, stop being antisocial. Come take a walk with me."

I sighed and stood up, knowing that it wasn't the smartest idea to protest against Haruhi. I looked back at Kyoya, who was still reading, and said, "I'll be back, mom. Don't get too bored without me here."

Before he could smack me with his book again, Haruhi and I made a quick escape down to the edge of the water. We laughed and began walking down the edge of the shore, looking for different shells or rocks that were pretty or oddly shaped.

"So, why did you want me to come with you?" I asked, picking up a shell and showing it to her.

She took the shell and inspected it. "Because you're always so antisocial and we barely speak to each other. I wanted to get to know you better."

She handed the shell back to me and I shoved it into the pocket of my swim trunks. "Oh, I see. Well, I'm not really the best person to try and get to know. I'm not that interesting."

"Kyoya seems to think that you are."

I blushed in embarrassment and rubbed the back of my neck. "What do you mean by that?"

She picked up another shell and eyed it. "Well, you seem to provide a challenge for him. He wants to know everything about everyone, but you don't let him do that. Sure he knows your past, but I think you're hiding more than just that." She chuckled and looked up at me from her shell. "Not to sound rude, Mai-kun, but I don't think you even told us _half_ of your past. I think you told just enough to keep Kyoya quiet for a while, am I right?"

I looked at her for a moment and then looked behind me, making sure none of the hosts were listening in on the conversation. I hadn't noticed how far away we had walked from the rest of the hosts until now. I couldn't even see where our towels were!

"Well, you got me there." I said sheepishly, rubbing the back of my neck. It's true; I hadn't told them everything about me, not even close. But that was just because I liked being a very closed person.

She chuckled again. "I knew it." She looked out at the sea and let the wind blow in her hair. It brushed against her cheeks as she smiled and said, "I just think you make Kyoya happy. He hasn't had a good challenge in a while, and I think he finds you really interesting." She shrugged and then sighed, "But who am I to guess? This is just my opinion, after all."

I smiled and stood next to her, looking out at the ocean as well. "I think you might be right, Haru-chan. And if I've heard correctly, Kyoya-kun hasn't been happy for a long time, right?"

Haruhi frowned and looked at the sand. "Yeah, that's right."

I smiled wide and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Well then, I guess it's _my_ job to make him happy again, right?"

She stared at me for a moment, in shock at the words I had said. She shook it off and smiled wide and began to laugh. "Yeah, I guess it is."

I laughed with her and looked back out towards the ocean. So, it was my job to make Kyoya happy again, huh?

I was so focused on the conversation that I had with Haruhi that I hadn't even noticed the two guys that had came up behind us. They were tall and muscular, much like Mori was.

"Hey Bruno, check out the cute girl." said the brown haired one, gesturing to Haruhi.

Haruhi simply rolled her eyes and turned to them. "Thanks for the compliment, but I'm not interested."

The blonde haired one, Bruno, made a pouty face. "Hear that, Mike? She's not interested in us."

I clenched my fists at my sides and tried to ignore the two idiots. I swear, people like this just annoyed the hell out of me.

"I'm already interested in someone else." she said, placed her hands on her hips in an attempt to be intimidating. Hey, Tamaki wasn't here so she could openly admit it as much as she wanted.

Mike scowled and looked at me. "Is it this idiot?" He pushed past Haruhi and towered over me, trying to seem intimidating. He was trying to scare the wrong person.

Bruno cracked his knuckles and stood next to his friend. "I bet it is."

I looked up at them with my arms crossed and an un-amused smirk plastered across my face. "What's it to you fools?"

I knew who Haruhi was talking about, but I didn't want to accidently get Tamaki into any trouble with these bastards.

"Leave him alone!" yelled Haruhi, trying to defend me.

Mike pushed her away with a beefy hand. "Stay outta this, toots."

Haruhi stumbled as she was pushed, but before she could fall I was right there to catch her and save her from the pain of the hot sand.

I carefully stood her up straight and looked at her with concern. "Are you alright, Haru-chan?"

She nodded and glared at the two men. "Let's get out of here."

Mike placed a hand on her shoulder and leaned in close. The smell of beer and cigarettes from his breath made Haruhi scowl in disgust.

"Aw, don't be like that. Why don't you just come back with us and forget your little boyfriend." he began to pull Haruhi close to him, but before Haruhi could react and slap him across the face, he was already on the floor holding his nose in sheer pain.

She looked up and saw me with my arm extended and my eyes shining brightly with an intense anger.

"_Don't you dare touch Haruhi with your disgusting hands you bastard_." I growled, my voice was low and intimidating,

"Mai-kun…" Haruhi murmured. She couldn't believe it. In just one blow I had the man as tall as Mori on the floor, groaning in pain and agony. My eyes were swirling with a fiery anger and when she heard me speak she flinched a little at my harsh tone. She had never seen this side of me before.

"Haru-chan, go back to the other hosts. Let me take care of this."

She wanted to protest, but after a moment of hesitation she nodded and did as told, running back down the shoreline to where her friends were.

"Mike!" Bruno yelled and knelt next to his friend. He snapped his gaze back up towards me and growled. "You bastard!"

He swung his fist out to hit me in the face, but I quickly ducked and upper-cutted him in the jaw. He stumbled back and wiped his mouth, smearing a bit of blood onto his hand from where his lip was cut open. I winced a bit at this but quickly shooed my fear aside. I couldn't be worrying about blood at a time like this.

Mike stood up and lunged for me. I moved to the side and let him fall back on the floor, causing sand to fly everywhere. Now it was Bruno's turn again. He charged at me with another punch, but this time I held my ground. I moved to the side and elbowed him right in the stomach. He coughed and held his torso and I smirked. Oh, how I missed fighting.

Mike attempted to round house kick me from behind, but I saw his attack coming from a mile away and ducked, kicking out my leg and sweeping him. He fell into the cold ocean water and I quickly turned my attention towards Bruno, knowing that he was ready to attack again. He jumped at me, but I was too quick. I punched him right in the nose as he flew towards me, causing him to fall on the floor and yell curse words.

I shook my hand in the air and whistled. "Damn, you have a hard face! That hurt my hand!"

Bruno became furious and lashed out at me again, attempting to punch my face. I ducked down, resulting in him punching Mike, who had snuck up behind me, instead.

I laughed and took a few steps back. "Wow, what a lucky shot!"

The two men lashed out at me again and the fight continued on for what seemed like an eternity. Punches were thrown, kicks were dodged, and water was splashed onto all three of us as the two large men were knocked down a countless number of times. It irritated me as I was soon beginning to get soaked as the two men splashed water on me every time they fell, but I knew that I couldn't think about such a thing at a time like this.

The two men both stood up from the cold water again and breathed heavily, wiping the blood from their faces. I stood a few feet away from them with my hands on my hips, not a single scratch on me.

"You can't win." I said casually. "Why don't you just give up now before I really start trying?"

"You flunking bastard!" Mike yelled, and they both lunged at me, grabbing me by the shoulders.

They both raised their fists to hit me, and the audience that had formed around us thought it was over for me. I smirked and looked up at them with mischievous eyes. I had them right where I wanted them.

I caught both of their punches easily and twisted their wrists, hearing a loud pop from both of them, and the two men yelled in pain. I kicked them both in the knee and then flipped them, releasing them into the cold water for the last time.

They each held the wrist that had been broken by the small red head in front of them and glared at me in pain. How could someone so small pack such a punch?

I brushed my hands off on each other and then placed them on my hips.

"This fight is over." I announced, glaring at the two men in the water. "And if I ever see you two touching Haruhi _ever_ again, I _will_ send you to the hospital."

I caught a glimpse of the hosts and turned my attention to them. Had they been there to whole time? I looked back at the disgusting men and growled, "Now, get out of my sight."

The men both stood up and ran away, running past the small crowd that had formed. The audience cheered as the two men left, and the crowd soon disbanded and went back to doing what they were originally doing beforehand.

I scoffed and walked towards the hosts, who had been watching in awe the whole time.

"Mai-kun, that was so cool!" yelled Honey, leaping off of Mori to give me a hug.

I rubbed the back of my neck in embarrassment. "Aw, it was nothing."

"_Who knew Mai could pack such a fight!" _yelled the twins in unison. They reenacted part of the fight in slow motion and laughed. "_He was like, 'bam, whap!' and the guys were like, 'slam, crack'!"_

I rolled my eyes at them and looked at Haruhi. I gently pushed Honey off of me and gave her a hug. "Are you alright, Haru-chan?"

She pushed me off because I was wet and looked at me with concern. "I should be asking you that."

"Aw, that fight was easy." I said and waved my hand in the air. "Those idiots couldn't fight to save their lives."

"Still, you could have gone easy on them." she said, waving a finger at me in discipline.

I cocked an eyebrow at her and laughed. "I did go easy on them!"

Haruhi deadpanned and her hand twitched. I _had_ to be joking.

Tamaki clapped his hands and wiped away crocodile tears. "Mai, that was simply amazing! Daddy is so proud of you!"

Mori rustled my hair and smiled. "Yeah."

I smiled and turned towards Kyoya. He was the only one who hadn't said anything yet.

"Well, what about you? What did you think? Am I as awesome as you thought I would be?"

Kyoya glanced at me and I flinched. His eyes were cold and dark and they held so much anger in them I thought I might drop dead any second.

He grabbed my wrist and dragged me away from the other hosts, and I yelled in protest as I tried to pry his hand off of me.

"H-Hey wait, where are we going?"

He didn't answer but continued pulling me farther and farther away from the hosts. I winced at his firm grip and continued to struggle. Just where the hell was he trying to take me?!

We turned the corner of a building and he threw me up against the wall. Before I could yell in protest he pinned me to the wall and stared into my eyes with an intense anger. But there was something else in his eyes…

What was it? Hate? Disappointment?

…Concern?

"What the hell did you think you were doing?" he asked sharply, and I winced at his harsh tone.

"W-What do you mean?"

He scowled and towered over me. "Taking on two huge guys the size of Mori when you're so small? You could have gotten yourself hurt!"

"But I didn't!" I corrected, and he shut me up with a growl.

"What would you have done if you had gotten hurt? No one was there to help you!"

"I knew that I could take those guys!" I protested, sinking further into the wall to try and escape the man in front of me. "I knew I would win!"

"And what if you didn't?" Kyoya snapped, his voice was low and intimidating. "Do you know how worried I was when they both grabbed you? I thought you were done for!"

My eyes widened as I stared at him. "You…were worried?"

Kyoya cussed under his breath and turned his head away. He didn't mean to say that.

I looked at him with pleading eyes and slumped my shoulders. "Kyoya I'm…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to worry you."

He turned his head to look at me again. His eyes weren't angry anymore, they were sorrowful and worried. My heart sank when I saw this, and I immediately knew how concerned he had been, and now I felt awful.

"Don't go thinking you can fight whoever you want. You could have gotten hurt."

He touched my face lightly and wiped away a few water droplets that had fallen from my hair.

He leaned in closer and my heart sank even further into my chest. What was he doing?!

He let go of my face and ran a hand through my hair, but stopped when he noticed a tan streak that he caused when he did so. He looked at his hand and raised an eyebrow.

"Makeup?" he mumbled, and looked back at my face.

He wiped away the rest of it with a soft hand, but tensed when he uncovered a large purple bruise on my pale cheek.

His eyes widened and he straightened, continuing to stare at my face in shock.

"Ky-Kyoya…I can explain…"

He narrowed his eyes and grabbed my shoulders, pushing me further into the wall and bending down to my eye level.

"Mai," he murmured, his voice was a low whisper but still held its intimidating intensity. He stared into my eyes with an angry concern and he touched my bruise lightly, becoming furious at the thought of what could have possibly caused it. "Who hit you…"

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**Whoa, omg what? Super long chapter?**

**Sorry for the length you guys, but I really wanted to end it here and I didn't want to have 3 chapters of the beach instead of 2. The beach gets old after a while, y'know?**

**And look, another cliffhanger! Mwahaha!**

**I'm evil, I know.**

**So, what do you think happened to Mai's face? How did she get the bruise? And what do you think Kyoya will do about it?**

**I want to hear your answers, so don't forget to follow, favorite, and review!**

**Until next time!**

**-Maiya Tsuki Takahashi**


	13. Chapter 13

**Hello hello fellow fanfictioners and welcome to another exciting (yeah right) chapter of Kyoya's apprentice!**

**This is a very special chapter of Kyoya's apprentice, and do you know why? Well, I'll tell you! THANKS TO ALL OF YOU FRIKEN LOVELY PEOPLE, I NOW HAVE 102 REVIEWS ON THIS STORY!**

**If I could give you all hugs, I would. I really really would. I just want to let you know that I love you all and you guys are amazing for not giving up on this story!**

**So, for all of you that support Kyoya x Mai, I'm gunna throw in some amazingness for this chapter.**

**Hold onto your hats, sit back, relax, and enjoy!**

* * *

_Recap:_

_He touched my face lightly and wiped away a few water droplets that had fallen from my hair. He leaned in closer and my heart sank even further into my chest. What was he doing?! He let go of my face and ran a hand through my hair, but stopped when he noticed a tan streak that he caused when he did so. He looked at his hand and raised an eyebrow._

"_Makeup?" he mumbled, and looked back at my face._

_He wiped away the rest of it with a soft hand, but tensed when he uncovered a large purple bruise on my pale cheek. His eyes widened and he straightened, continuing to stare at my face in shock._

"_Ky-Kyoya…I can explain…"_

_He narrowed his eyes and grabbed my shoulders, pushing me further into the wall and bending down to my eye level._

"_Mai," he murmured, his voice was a low whisper but still held its intimidating intensity. He stared into my eyes with an angry concern and he touched my bruise lightly, becoming furious at the thought of what could have possibly caused it. "Who hit you…"_

My eyes widened as Kyoya stared at me in shock. I had never meant for him to see that, that's why I covered it with makeup! I bit my lower lip as I sank even further into the wall. Oh, how I wished that I was a ghost so I could just faze through walls and escape this horrible nightmare. I stayed silent and averted my eye gaze to the floor. I really didn't want to tell him what happened. He would just become concerned.

"I-I…slipped and fell a few days ago." I stuttered out, lying through my teeth. " I-I put makeup on it because I didn't want you guys getting concerned…"

"Bullshit." Kyoya growled. His eyes flashed with a hint of anger at the lie I was trying to pull.

I gulped and shook my head. I wanted to run away. I knew I could outrun Kyoya, even if he tried hard to catch me. Although I may not seem like it, I was a pretty fast runner. God knows why I didn't try out for track.

I looked to my right. It was blocked by Kyoya's arm.

I gulped and looked to my left. It was also blocked by Kyoya's arm.

Shit. I was trapped.

Kyoya leaned in closer to me and I flinched. He held my chin lightly and turned my head towards him, making me look at him.

"Tell me now." he whispered. He was so close I could feel his breath on my face. "Where did you get that bruise? Who hit you?"

I tried to squirm out of his grasp, but he was so close and didn't let me escape. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. This was all a dream. This _had_ to be all a dream. I was actually just asleep on the warm sand, and Kyoya was still sitting next to me, reading his book. Yes, this just had to be a dream.

I opened my eyes again but flinched when I saw that I was in the same position as I was when I closed my eyes. I mentally screamed and pressed my back further against the wall, standing on my tip toes in a desperate attempt to get as far away from Kyoya as possible.

"N-No one hit me." I whimpered. My voice was beginning to crack with fear and I just wanted this all to end. Why couldn't he believe me?

"Then where did you get that bruise?" he asked again, his voice never wavering from its sternness.

I averted my gaze to the side again. "I-I told you…I-I slipped and fell."

Kyoya's eyes flashed with anger again and he hit the wall to let me know he wasn't fooling around.

"You and I both know that's bullshit! Tell me what happened now!"

I put my hands on his chest in an attempt to push him away, but he was so strong and determined that he didn't even move an inch.

"P-Please, I-I don't want to tell you!" I whimpered helplessly. I didn't need him to get involved in this. He would just get mad!

Kyoya's glasses gleamed evilly as I said this. He was making progress at getting me to talk about what happened.

"Tell me right now before I show all the other Hosts and get them involved."

My eyes widened and I snapped my gaze towards him. "Y-You wouldn't."

An evil smirk danced across his face and he let out a short, low chuckle. "Try me."

I gulped and tried to calm the pounding heart in my chest. Was it really worth it to tell him? Knowing him, he _would_ show the other Hosts, and then I'd be in even more trouble!

But what would he do once he found out what happened? Would he be angry with me or concerned? Either one I didn't want to see him as.

I sighed and let my hands fall to my sides defenselessly. I guess I should tell him. I mean, what was there to lose?

I stared at him with hollow blue eyes and let my lips form into a bored straight line. I wasn't going to let him read me like I know he wanted to. I was going to stand my ground.

"I used my mom's booze money to buy us dinner a few days ago. I know that must seem like a stupid idea, but I hadn't eaten anything in two days besides two daily slices of cake from the Host Club. I thought she'd prefer a nice dinner other than another bottle of sake…" I smiled sadly and shook my head. "But I was wrong. She was extremely mad and I ended up getting a nice hard end of a wine bottle to the face."

Kyoya's eyes widened as I finished my short story. Was I telling the truth? Had my mom really hit me like I said she had? Kyoya's brows furrowed as he stared into my eyes, trying to find the answer. But to his contempt, he only saw sorrow in my hollow, tired blue eyes.

I stared at him as he looked at me with furrowed brows, trying to find out if I was lying or not.

But I wasn't. It had been the absolute truth, whether I liked it or not.

I closed my eyes and rested my head back against the wall. Now that I told Kyoya what he wanted, he would leave me alone, right? That's all he wanted to know, so he didn't have any use for me right now.

I sighed as I felt him shift his weight back and lean away from me, his face no longer so close to mine and his hand was no longer resting softly on my cheek.

I opened my eyes slowly to see him still trapping me against the wall, but his head was down and his bangs were hanging in front of his face. My eyes widened as he began to mumble angrily to himself, swearing under his breath and trembling with fury.

I placed a calm hand on his shoulder and he looked up at me, his eyes less angry, but now pained.

"Why didn't you tell me…" he whispered. His voice was hollow and dripping with concern.

I frowned. "I-I…I didn't want you to worry."

Kyoya glared at me and straightened, letting go of the wall to push up his glasses. I wanted to take my chance and run, but I knew that would make Kyoya furious with me, and he already seemed so angry to begin with. I stayed on the wall so I wouldn't make him mad, and he quickly looked back at me from straightening his glasses. I gulped as his eye gaze focused on my bandages, and I quickly crossed my arms again and turned away shyly. I was really hoping he hadn't figured out my gender by the way he was leaning over me.

Before I could worry about it anymore though, Kyoya slinked an arm around my waist and pulled me close to him, using his free hand to tilt my chin up to look him in the eyes. I blushed furiously as he stared at me intently, his dark eyes holding concern, but a bit of softness.

"Where else has she hit you?" he asked, moving his hand from my chin to my arm. He ran his hand down my arm slowly, carefully, as to not hurt me if I had another bruise.

I shivered in discomfort as he did so. All of this contact was freaking me out!

"N-Nowhere." I muttered, trying to pull away from him.

He ran his hand through my hair. "Are you lying?"

I gulped and shook my head. "N-No, I'm not lying. I-I promise…"

"You're lying to me." He rumbled, running his hand across the bruise on my face again. "I know you're lying…where does she hit you, and why?"

I felt tears perk at the corners of my eyes as I struggled desperately to pry away from him. "I-I'm done talking. Leave me alone."

Kyoya put his fingertips on the edge of my bandages that where at the bottom of my ribcage and I gasped in shock. No, there was no way this was happening. I grabbed his hands and trembled lightly in fear.

"W-W-What are you doing?"

Kyoya glared at me in contempt of stopping him. "Let me see your scar."

"W-What?" I snapped, my eyes growing wider than they already were. "N-No way in hell!"

Kyoya wrapped his arms around my waist and brought me closer to him, trapping me again. "She gave it to you, didn't she? How badly did she hit you that time? How long have you had that scar?"

"M-My mother didn't give me the scar!" I pleaded, wanting him to let go. My heart was pounding so hard in my chest that I was sure even he could hear it.

"Then who did?"

I continued to try and pry away from him. Why was he doing this?!

"I-I'm not telling you that! S-Senpai, let go!"

Kyoya pulled me closer to him and ran his fingers through my hair, then rested his hand at the back of my head and made me look at him.

"You're mine, do you understand that?" he whispered, causing me to blush an even darker red.

"W-What the hell are you talking about?!" I screamed. What was he saying?! Why was he torturing me like this?!

Kyoya leaned down until he was so close I could feel his breath on my face again. "You're _my_ apprentice." he rumbled silently, feeling my soft hair in between his fingers. "No one is allowed to touch you but me. If anyone even thinks about hurting you again, I will be there. You're _mine_, and if anyone dares to defy that I _will_ show them that they are wrong."

If I could blush anymore, I would have, but my face was already so red that I looked like I had a sunburn. I tried to push him away again, but he just slinked his arms around my waist again and didn't let me escape. Why was he being so possessive all of a sudden?! I had never seen him like this!

"I-I d-don't belong to anyone!" I protested, burying my face in my hands in an attempt to calm my blushing face.

"You're wrong." he whispered, grabbing hold of my wrists and pushing me up against the wall again. He leaned over me again and kept his voice soft and quiet. "You're mine, and no one else's. No one else is allowed to touch you like this but me, do you understand?"

I gulped and looked up at him with timid eyes. "I-If I say yes, w-will you let me go?"

Kyoya smirked and a glint of slyness danced in his eyes. "No, I don't think so."

Kyoya let go of one of my wrists and held my chin, tilting my head to the side. I held my breath as he leaned down slowly, the smirk on his face never vanishing. My heart sped up and I closed my eyes in fear. What was he trying to do?!

I felt the heat of Kyoya's breath on my face, and my stomach lurched with uneasiness knowing that he was so close. But as fast as I had felt Kyoya's breath on my face, it was gone, and he had quickly let go of me and backed away.

I opened my eyes timidly and saw Kyoya straightening his glasses, acting as if nothing had happened as the twins turned the corner.

"I _told_ you they went this way!" Kaoru protested to his twin, who waved a lazy hand in the air.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." Hikaru returned. He turned his attention to me and Kyoya and frowned.

"What's wrong? You guys just left without saying a word to any of us!"

Kyoya walked past the twins without a word and ran a hand through his hair, leaving us all in an awkward silence as he made his way back to the other hosts.

The twins both raised their eyebrows and looked at me. "_What's with him?"_

I watched Kyoya walk away and immediately felt better knowing that the crazy situation just moments before was over. My heart stopped pounding in my chest and I felt my face cool down, signaling that my blush was beginning to fade. I sighed in relaxation as I crossed my arms again and got off the wall, making my way past the twins with a quiet whisper of "Nothing, forget about it."

The twins watched the young red head walk away and both raised an eyebrow at each other. "_What's with her?"_

-/-

I sighed and leaned my head on the side of the car, thankful that the day was over and that I was going home. What I _wasn't_ thankful for, however, was the fact that the twins had talked Tamaki into riding in the limo with them, so I was alone in a limo with Kyoya.

'_Note to self, kill the twins when we get back to the Host Club.'_ I thought to myself angrily.

I heard Kyoya sigh as he flipped a page in his book. I didn't bother opening my eyes to look at him though. I was still confused and afraid of what had happened at the beach, and the last person I felt like talking to was Kyoya.

"Still tired?" Kyoya spoke up, pulling me away from my thoughts.

I bit my lip and opened my eyes. Well, if this was complete irony.

I nodded and sat up straight, playing with my fingers on my lap nervously. "Yeah…still tired."

Kyoya made a small "hn" noise and raised a finger, motioning for me to come closer to him. I sighed and timidly did as told, knowing that it wouldn't be a smart idea to protest. He set his book down as I got up and sat next to him, my heart beginning to pound in my chest again. I was really hoping this wasn't going to be a repeat of earlier in the day.

Kyoya wrapped an arm around my shoulders and pulled me closer to him until my head was resting on his chest. I looked up at him with an embarrassed expression.

"S-Senpai-"

"Shh, just rest and go to sleep." he whispered, I could feel the vibrations of his voice in his chest. "I'll be your pillow."

I felt my stomach flutter with embarrassment as he added in the last line, but I gulped down my feelings and nodded shyly, closing my eyes and curling into a ball next to my Senpai. I felt him relax and pull me closer to him, and he let out a long sigh of content. I think he liked knowing that I wouldn't protest against him.

I felt myself begin to drift off silently to a light sleep, and I nestled into the softness of Kyoya's shirt, earning what sounded like a slight chuckle from him as my hearing began to softly fade.

The world around me began to sink as I finally drifted off into sleep like I had been trying to do all day, but before I was completely unaware of my surroundings a thought appeared in my head and made me blush with embarrassment.

It's true, I was finally getting the sleep I wanted, but was it possible that the only reason I was able to sleep soundly was because I was cuddling with….

…Kyoya?

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**I NEED YOU ALL TO READ THIS DISCLAIMER BECAUSE IT IS IMPORTANT!**

**Ok, so before I go into my normal ending disclaimer, I need to ask a favor off all of you. If you are interested, please look up my friend's profile on fanfiction. The username is EibonVirgo, and she writes an Ouran fanfiction called "Wanted". Why am I asking you guys to read it? Oh yeah, cuz Mai is going to be in it! It's like a fanfiction within a fanfiction! Fanception!**

**Haha, ok so anyways, I hope you all liked this chapter! See what happens when you guys review so much? You get chapters like this!**

**I'm not sure when the next chapter will be up, but hopefully it will be up soon!**

**In the meantime, don't forget to follow, favorite, and review!**

**See you all next time, and thanks for 102 reviews!**

**-Maiya Tsuki Takahashi**


	14. Chapter 14

**Hello hello fellow fanfictioners! Welcome to another chapter of Kyoya's apprentice!**

**First off, I wanna say thank you for all your lovely reviews! Have I mentioned that I love you guys?**

**Secondly, I would like to apologize for not updating sooner! Between school work, Karate, drama and more, I have had absolutely **_**no**_** time for fanfiction writing. (And when I **_**did**_ **have time I was too depressed to write and or was too busy crying my eyes out.)**

**Anyways, let's hope that this chapter is a good one!**

**So, as usual, sit back, relax, and enjoy!**

* * *

"I flunking _hate_ you guys."

Hikaru and Kaoru both held their stomachs as they collapsed on the floor, unable to breathe do to the fact that they were laughing to hard.

"I-I think you look great!" Hikaru laughed, wiping tears from his eyes. He had never seen a sight more hilarious!

Kaoru nodded as much as he could without breaking into another fit of laughter. "Yeah, yeah! You look great, Mai-kun!"

I sighed and crossed my arms, my eyebrow twitching in annoyance at the two idiots on the ground. Honestly, why was I going through with this?

I looked back into the mirror and sighed as I glanced over my outfit again. This week's theme just had to be _this_, didn't it? I mean sure, Kyoya _had_ mentioned this week's theme before, but I had thought that he was joking!

I rubbed the bridge of my nose and grit my teeth. I guess I had to learn the hard way that Kyoya doesn't joke.

"Aw, cheer up! It's not _that_ bad!" Hikaru clapped a hand on my shoulder, smirking down at me.

I glanced at myself in the mirror again. I was wearing a red tank top with a black denim vest, ripped up dark blood red jeans and knee-high black combat boots. A black choker with a bell was strapped around my neck, and it jingled annoyingly every time I moved. I had a black cat tail strapped to my pants, and it swayed with every angry step I took. Worst of all though, was that I was forced to wear black cat ears to complete the outfit, making me look even more stupid than I already did. The twins had used their makeup skills to draw scratches on my face, and they plastered a band aid across my nose, causing me to look "tough", or so they had said. My role, after all, was to be the "stray badass cat boy".

I sighed and grit my teeth even harder.

Hikaru was wrong. It _was_ that bad.

"Mai-kun looks so cool!" Honey beamed, leaping at me for a tight hug. I stumbled slightly but regained my balance, not wanting to fall on the cold tile of the Host Club.

"See?" chirped Kaoru, wiping away his remaining tears. "I told you it wasn't that bad!"

I sighed and tried to keep my anger inside. There was no use in blowing up on these idiots for making me wear stupid costumes. That's what Hosts did after all, and I was a Host. (Even if I didn't want to be.)

I peeled Honey off of me and brushed him aside, earning a few strange glances from the idiots around me. Even when I was upset, I would always make sure to hug Honey back no matter what. Even though I really didn't care for hugs, I enjoyed hugging Honey because he was always so happy and full of life. Somehow, hugging him made me feel warm inside. I guess Honey just had that effect on people.

Hikaru looked at his twin in worry and quickly looked back at me. "Mai-kun, are you…ok?"

Kaoru nodded in concern. "Yeah…we were just joking around. You really do look nice in that outfit."

I sighed and brushed them off, leaving with a faint whisper of "I'm fine" to the concerned Hosts. Today just was not a good day for me, and the last thing that I wanted to be doing right now was to be talking to people. Guess that's just the irony of being in a Host Club. Even when you don't want to talk to people you have to because it's your friken job.

'_No matter what anyone does today, just remember to stay calm. It may be a bad day, but prison orange is _not_ your color.'_ I thought, trying to calm the boiling blood in my veins. I needed to hit something, and I needed to hit something _now_.

It wasn't the Hosts fault that I was angry today, which was weird seeing as they normally _always_ made me mad _somehow_, but today it was really not their fault. I just had my own shit to deal with, and I wasn't dealing with it well.

I sighed and sat down, running a rough hand through my dark red hair. I just wanted to go home. Maybe if I told Kyoya that I was sick he would let me leave early.

'_Fat chance.' _I scoffed in my head. '_He'd probably send me to the nurse or something just to prove that I was trying to get out early. Then he'd think I was being lazy or something and I's get yelled at.'_

"Hey, Mai-kun." Haruhi greeted, placing a few empty tea cups on my table. Her presence almost startled me as I didn't notice her approach, but that's what I get for being lost in my thoughts again.

I looked up at her and masked my emotions with a smile. It's what I _always _did.

"Oh, hello Haru-chan. You look cute in that outfit." I said sweetly, gesturing towards her own cat outfit that the Hosts had made for her.

She had on black skinny jeans with a dark green shirt that had ruffles on the sleeves, and her bell was also loud and annoying. Her ears and tail matched mine, but she seemed more annoyed about them than I was.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I guess. I hate this choker though." she said, tugging on it. I couldn't help but chuckle lightly.

She sat down in the seat in front of me and placed her hands under her chin, a pose she always made when she wanted to talk about something interesting with me. We had grown closer since the incident at the beach, which I guess I was grateful for. At least she wasn't an idiot or annoying like everyone else.

"Something on your mind?" I asked halfheartedly, taking a lollipop out of my boot and offering it to her. She declined the treat with a raised eyebrow. She never did know where I stored all my candy. Then again, _none_ of the Hosts knew. Sometimes it was actually a wonder to me.

"Just wondering what's up with you today. You seem a little annoyed, kinda distant. Not to mention you have your wrist tapped, and I _know_ it's not part of your outfit, so don't try and fool me."

I raised my hands in defense. "Slow down, Haru-chan! One question at a time!" I unwrapped the lollipop I had taken from my boot and popped it into my mouth. '_Yum. Cherry.'_

"Alright, alright." she sighed, brushing a few strands of hair out of her face. "So, what's up with you today?"

I sighed and shook my head. I wasn't going to get into this. Let's hope she buys my lie.

"Nothing really. Just a bad day is all. Everyone had those days, y'know?"

Haruhi rolled her eyes and groaned. "Tell me about it."

We both laughed and for a moment I felt just a little better. Speaking to Haruhi always put me in a good mood, though I never really knew why. She was just so…relatable, and not a smart ass. It was nice to actually talk to someone without being picked on or insulted.

"Haruhi! Your guests are here!" Tamaki chanted, waving his arms in the air to catch the girl's attention. I sighed and placed a hand on my head.

'_God, he is such an idiot.'_

Haruhi nodded a goodbye to me and stood up, but then checked herself and turned around. "Wait, so what's wrong with your wrist?"

I hid my wrapped wrist behind my back and shooed her away with my free hand. "Just a sprain. Now go entertain your guests. I'll talk to you later."

Haruhi raised her eyebrow suspiciously but said nothing more as she turned and walked away. I knew what she was thinking. _I'll just ask him more about it later._

Psh, whatever.

I stood up and stretched, even though I hadn't been sitting for more than five minutes. I just couldn't sit still today. I was so upset, so angry, so sad.

I quickly located Kyoya and made my way across the room towards him. He noticed me approaching him and hid a devious smile behind his black notebook. Apparently he thought my appearance was amusing.

"Shut up, I don't look _that_ funny." I growled, shoving my hands into my pockets.

He continued to scan me up and down and chuckled a bit. "I beg to differ. Seeing you as a _cat_ is amusing beyond belief."

I rolled my eyes and glared at him. I wasn't in the mood for him to start teasing me.

"Listen, I'm going to step outside for a few minutes to get some fresh air. If my guests arrive, can you just tell them to wait for me please?"

Kyoya's expression darkened immediately. "Why do you need to step outside?"

I looked down, avoiding his harsh gaze. "Just to y'know…clear my head before my guests get here. Mentally practice my conversations and actions so I know what to do. That way I can swoon the guests easier and make more profit."

Kyoya's glasses gleamed the moment I mentioned profit, and he turned around and wrote something in his black book before waving a lazy hand at me.

"Sure, do whatever you want. Just be back soon or I will go outside to look for you." He turned his head to glare at me. "And we wouldn't want _that, _would we?"

I gave a fake salute to him and stood straight. "No sir!"

He turned his attention back to his precious book and I sighed and made my way outside, taking off my cat ears in the process to hang them on a coat rack near the door. I didn't want anyone seeing the tough guy on campus wearing "Kawaii neko" cat ears. That would just be horrible.

I walked down the long hallway and turned the corner, figuring that I had put enough distance between me and the Host Club.

"Jeez, if I don't do something about my mood, everyone is going to know that something is up." I mumbled, slinking down against a wall to sit on the cold hard tile.

I put my hand over my eyes and frowned. "But how can I just ignore this? Today's the day…that I…that he…"

I felt cold tears begin to run down my cheeks, and I quickly wiped them away, knowing that if anyone saw me crying I would be in a big trouble. My actions of trying to hide my tears failed though, because just as soon as I wiped away tears, more formed and rolled down my cheeks. I was beginning to choke on sobs and I brought my knees closer to my chest.

'_Stop crying. Stay strong.'_

I placed my head back on the wall behind me and continued to cry, though on the inside I was desperately trying to calm down. But my emotions wouldn't listen. Tears continued to pour down my pale face, staining my cheeks with a broken sorrow. I let out a quiet sob as I continued to wipe my eyes, now beginning to cry harder than I already was.

This was bad. What if someone saw me?

I took deep breaths to try and calm myself, but it was no use, I kept crying. Every time I let myself utter a soft sob I would end up crying harder than I already was, and that sent me into even more emotional pain as memories continued to flood my head of that awful day.

'_Stop crying, stay strong. You have guests waiting for you.'_

I took a long deep breath and wiped my tears again. The bandage on my wrist was completely soaked now and I made a mental note to change it as soon as possible. I stood up and braced myself against the wall, but it was too much. Standing up somehow pushed me over my emotional limit, and I collapsed to the floor in a ball, my tears falling onto the tile below me and creating a small puddle that I wished I could drown in.

I was a wreck, and I was scared.

I felt the weight of the world surround me in that moment. All of my pain, my sorrows, my fears,_ everything _was hitting me at once. I couldn't take it anymore.

I let out another loud sob, but I couldn't hear it. Why? Why couldn't I hear myself crying?

My mind began to fade back and forth, one moment feeling dizzy and the next feeling alert and worried. I knew this feeling. It was so familiar. What was it?

Another wave of dizziness washed over me and I closed my eyes in pain. This was the same feeling I had when Kaoru had cut his finger open. I gripped my shirt where my scar was. Fainting was more painful than I had remembered. I had heard that it was possible to cry yourself unconscious, but I never thought it was true. I never thought it was possible, that is until now. I hadn't cried this hard in years. Not since that day. That day I lost everything. That day that changed my life. But that's exactly why I was crying now.

"Koji!" I whisper yelled, but I was barely able to hear myself. I wasn't sure if I had actually said anything at all.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there to protect you! This is your anniversary. The day you...the day I wasn't there for you!"

I hit the ground in anger. Why had it happened? Was he not good enough for the world? If the world worked like that, then _I _should be the one that's dead!

"It shouldn't be you who died. I want to see you again, Koji!"

I continued to choke on sobs, my mind beginning to fade as the world around me started to grow fuzzy and dark. Was I really going to faint? Here and now?  
What would Kyoya think when he came to get me?

I clutched my chest tighter as it became hard to breath. Was I going to die?

My body was shaking uncontrollably and my breathing was short and jagged. I felt my body melting into a slow unconsciousness as I continued to cry, but somehow I managed to smile as I felt myself leaving reality. If this was really the end for me, then so be it.

At least I would get to see Koji again.

* * *

Haruhi walked out of the Host Club to look for her redheaded friend. Kyoya didn't want to go and get Mai himself, so he sent Haruhi to do it instead.

Haruhi sighed and shook her head. "Honestly, sometimes I think I'm still the Host Club's dog."

Haruhi paused for a moment as she heard a faint sound in the distance. She raised an eyebrow in question to what it was. It sounded like somebody was crying. Haruhi knew she shouldn't try and pry into anyone's personal business, but she couldn't help but be concerned. She needed to know if this person was ok.

She slowly followed the sound of the crying, but then quickened her pace to a jog as it began to increase. Whoever this was, they were crying _hard_.

Haruhi turned the corner and put her hands to her mouth in shock so that she wouldn't scream. The sight in front of her was just so breathtaking; she couldn't help but choke on a yell of surprise. Right in front of her was a sight that she never thought she would _ever _see.

Mai was on the ground, curled into a tight ball, bawling his eyes out.

"M-Mai-kun..." she said slowly, making sure not to startle her crying friend.

She received no answer, just more loud sobs that almost seemed to be uncontrolled. She reached out carefully and put a light hand on her friend's shoulder.

"M-Mai...w-what's wrong?"

She brushed the hair out of the young boy's face, hoping to catch his attention. His eyes were closed, not shut tight like they normally would be when someone was crying, but almost like he was asleep. She shook him to try and get his attention, causing him to limply roll onto his back, tears still continuing to run down his face.

Haruhi's eyes widened in shock as she realized why her friend wasn't responding, and she quickly backed up a few steps, praying to God that this wasn't happening.

Mai was unconscious.

* * *

"So, you're telling me that you just found him crying on the ground unconscious?" Kyoya asked, pushing up his glasses and staring at the young boy on the couch. He had stopped crying, but he was still unconscious and would sometimes stir and whisper "I'm sorry."  
Kyoya could only imagine what was going through his head at the time. It isn't everyday that you cry yourself unconscious.

Haruhi sighed and crossed her arms. "Yeah. I heard someone crying and turned the corner and found him on the ground. I tried to get his attention and then I noticed he was unconscious." She casted a worried glance at her friend and added, "He was curled up in a ball."

Kyoya nodded and wrote something in his black book. Whether it was about Mai crying himself unconscious, Haruhi didn't know, but she had a pretty good guess that it was.

The Shadow King took a glance up from writing and pointed at the boy's wrist with his pen. "What happened to his wrist?"

Haruhi shrugged slightly. "Dunno. He said he sprained it, but I don't think I really believe that."

Kyoya nodded and quickly scribbled more nonsense into his personal black book. Haruhi sighed and shoved her hands into her jacket pockets, slowly shaking her head.

'_He probably writes everything down so that he can use it as blackmail one day.'_

"We'll have to dismiss all of his customers today." Kyoya said with frown, glancing at Haruhi and pulling her away from her thoughts. "This will be bad for our profits. He had a lot of guests today."

Haruhi's eyes quickly flashed with anger. "Is that all you can think about in a time like this?!" she yelled, not loud enough to cause people to start staring, but loud enough to get her point across.

Kyoya raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

Haruhi pointed towards her friend on the couch and glared at Kyoya. "Your apprentice just cried himself unconscious, and all you have to say is that it will be bad for the club's profits?! For him to be crying this badly something must be terribly wrong, and all you're concerned about is losing money!"

Kyoya pushed up his glasses and hid his eyes behind their gleam. "It's not my business to know why he's crying. If he wants to talk about it, then he will. I'm not going to ask about it, because frankly, I don't care."

Haruhi clenched her fists at her sides. If she could have hit Kyoya right then and there, she would have. Mai had once stood up for her at the beach, so now it was her turn to stand up for him. She opened her mouth to say something, but Kyoya turned on his heel and began to walk away casually as if nothing had happened.

"I suggest you don't get too worked up, Haruhi. You still have more guests arriving soon."

Haruhi watched Kyoya walk out of the room and disappear into the kitchen, the whole time glaring daggers into the back of his head. She looked back at her unconscious friend, her anger slowly draining out of her, and she stroked misplaced strands of hair out of his face with a sigh.

"Why didn't you tell any of us that you were hurting so much?"

She glanced back at the kitchen door and glared, remembering what Kyoya had said. Remembering how he had told her that he didn't care. She sat down on the couch next to Mai and watched over him protectively, waiting until he woke up. She clenched her fists on her knees and stared angrily at the ground. How could Kyoya _not_ care?

What Haruhi _didn't _know though, was that Kyoya himself was angry as well, trying to calm himself down by drinking a glass of cold water. He had secluded himself in the kitchen so that she wouldn't see him upset.

Kyoya gripped the side of the counter and stared into his empty glass with cold eyes, gritting his teeth so that he wouldn't scream. He leaned over the counter and let his hair hang in his face, hiding the pain and agony in his eyes. It's not that he didn't care about Mai, because he did! The young boy was his apprentice for God's sake! But if he let anyone know that he actually saw Mai as a friend, then he could lose some major respect as the Shadow King, and that was the last thing he wanted to have happen.

Kyoya slammed his fist onto the counter, making the empty glass shake with a slight clinking sound. It was almost as if the glass was scared of the man in front of it. He was so fierce and angry.

"Dammit Mai…" he growled lowly, glaring at his reflection in the empty water glass that seemed to mirror his image in fear. He looked so awful and so stressed, it was almost a shock to him. "Why didn't you tell me that you were so upset?"

* * *

I groaned as I felt my body beginning to come back to reality. My mind felt like it was floating, but then I would feel it begin to sink and I would feel an enormous pain swallow me whole. I twitched my fingers, mainly to see if I still had control over my body. I was glad to see that my hands responded, and if I could have smiled without it hurting, I would have.

I turned my head to the side and let my eyes flutter open, immediately regretting doing so, seeing as how the light hurt my eyes. I rubbed my head and sat up slowly, feeling sick to my stomach with every slight movement I made.

This sucked.

"Oh! You're waking up!" I heard someone exclaim, though I wasn't sure who's voice it was, seeing as my hearing was still a bit hazy.

I focused my vision on a person sitting next to me, actually feeling a bit of relief as I noticed that it was Haruhi instead of someone else.

"What happened?" I asked, glancing around, my vision still a bit fuzzy. "Am I at the gates of Hell?"

Haruhi gave me a questioning look and poured a glass of water. "No, you're back at the Host Club." she said, handing me the drink.

I took it gratefully and gulped it down. I never knew water could be so amazing. It felt like a glass of life, slowly making its way down my throat and filling me with the sweet sweet feeling of refreshment. I wiped my lips with the back of my hand and set the glass down in the coffee table in front of me. Then I groaned as another wave of pain washed over me, and I buried my face in my hands.

"How are you feeling?" Haruhi asked concerned, refilling the glass.

'_O__h, just __**ecstatic**__._' I thought sarcastically.

"Like crap."

Haruhi played with her own water glass shyly. "Can I ask what happened?"

I shrugged my shoulders and looked up at her (seeing as how I was slouching) through my fingers. "I guess, if you wanna. But even I don't really know what happened." I looked at the glass of water on the table. "One moment, I go outside to clear my head...then the next moment I end up fainting..." I trailed off, my voice becoming a silent whisper.

Haruhi looked down. "I meant...why you were crying."

I snapped my gaze towards her. How did she know?

"What are you talking about?" I asked, but with the sternness in my voice it almost sounded like a demand.

Haruhi raised her eyebrows. "You were still crying when I found you unconscious in the hallway. You stopped after a while...but then you kept mumbling that you were sorry." She leaned in a bit closer. "But what are you sorry for?"

My eyes widened as Haruhi spoke. Had I really been crying while I was still unconscious? Was that even possible?! I guess so, I mean, I don't think Haruhi would lie. I bowed my head in shame and looked at the floor. This was not how I imagined things turning out today.

"I, um..." I said weakly, my voice getting caught in my throat.

Haruhi leaned in a bit closer. I had never seen her so curious about someone else's business before.

"What happened? You know you can tell me. I just want to help, after you beat up those two guys at the beach for me."

I rubbed the back of my neck and continued to stare anywhere else but at her. "Um...it's just...I mean...what I'm trying to say..."

I exhaled deeply and slouched even more, letting my bangs fall in front of my sad blue eyes. It was just Haruhi. If anything, she was the one that was the most trustworthy at the Host Club, right?

I ran a hand through my hair and sat up straight, clutching my knees with my hands. "Well...remember how I told you...about my brother..."

She raised an eyebrow. "Koji?"

I nodded once. "Yeah, him..." I rubbed my knees a bit. "Today...today's his anniversary...the day he..." I choked on my words, then swallowed hard. Why was this so hard to say?

Haruhi's face fell and she frowned. "O-Oh, Mai I'm so sorry."

I shook my head and looked at the floor again. "No no, don't be...it's just..." I clutched the part of my shirt where my scar was, my eyes flashing a hint of remorse. "I blame myself for what happened...I wasn't there for him...I should be dead, not him. My poor brother..."

Haruhi shook her head and placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. "Don't think like that. It wasn't your fault. You can take blame for something that huge."

I clutched my shirt tighter. "No...I wasn't there to protect him like I always promised...I let him die...I left him alone."

More tears began to perk in my eyes and Haruhi instantly reacted by hugging me close, rubbing comforting circles on my back. An instant flash of nostalgia pang through my heart and made me feel safe. It was just like my mom used to do when I was sad.

"It wasn't your fault." she said again. Her voice was soft, but I could tell she was being stern.

I stared at the ground emotionlessly for a few more moments, pondering what she had said. I had always blamed myself for the death of my brother. It's just how I was. I limply raised my free arm and wrapped it around her waist, hugging her tightly and burying my face into her shoulder.

I felt my heart warm and I opened my chapped lips a few centimeters to whisper something that I hadn't said in a long time. "Thank you."

She pulled away and wiped the tears from my eyes. "I understand how hard it is to lose a close family member. But you've stars strong for so many years. If something as bad as hat ever happened to me, I don't think I would be able to cope with it as well as you have."

I sighed and brushed my bangs out of my eyes. "Being strong hurts. But I can't afford to be weak." My eyes narrowed. "It would ruin my delinquent reputation. No one would see me as the tough kid if they caught me crying."

Haruhi held my hands firmly. "Even tough kids need to be weak sometimes."

Her gaze moved to the bandages on my left wrist and I gulped.

"Speaking of being tough..." she murmured, eyeing my wrist suspiciously and bringing it up to her face for closer inspection.

I gulped, fear invading my voice as I stuttered "I-It's a sprain."

She furrowed her brows and looked at me sternly. The look on Haruhi's face scared me. I had need seen her look so intense.

"I don't believe you."

I tried to snatch my hand away, but her grip was firm. "W-Why?"

She took the end of the bandage and started to unwrap it, causing my heart to sink into my stomach. "Because knowing you, even if you had a sprained wrist you wouldn't bother to wrap it and you would act like nothing was wrong."

I gulped again and sat in silence. This wasn't happening. This _couldn't_ be happening. Of course this wasn't happening! I was probably still passed out on the floor in the hallway, waiting for someone to come and wake me up.

Yes, this was all a dream. A nightmare. It _had_ to be.

Haruhi finished unwrapping my bandages and she set them aside, then flipped my wrist over and held her hand to her mouth to suppress a shocked yelp as she saw what was wrong. She had never imagined his happening. Especially not from Mai.

"H-Haruhi, it's not what it looks like, I-I swear!" I stuttered out, but she knew it wasn't true.

Haruhi's eyes were widened to dinner plate size proportions. She looked at me, then back at my wrist, and she shook her head breathlessly. She couldn't believe it. This couldn't be real! She lightly brushed her thumb over my wrist, causing me to wince in pain.

The cuts were new, after all, so they were still sore.

Yes, you heard right. _Cuts_.

Haruhi shook her head again and took her hand off her mouth. "Mai, what did you do to yourself?!"

My mind began to race in all sorts of directions and my fingers twitched anxiously. "I-I got cut on a fence! I swear!"

"Bullshit!" she snapped, and I winced like a scared puppy. I had never heard her cuss before. She took another glance at my wrist and frowned. "You cut yourself."

I gulped and tried to explain. But what kind of explanation would ever make this better?

"I really didn't mean to, Haruhi, honest! I-It just…happened! I swear!"

Haruhi traced the cuts with her thumb again, frowning deeply. What once was a slender pale wrist was now stained and tarnished by ten perfectly cut, perfectly _long_ crimson lines. Some went sideways, some went diagonal. Some even went from the wrist to the middle of the arm in a perfect vertical sorrow.

Haruhi shook her head. "Why?"

My hands were shaking. My legs were shaking. Every part of me was shaking.

"I-I…I don't know." I answered honestly. "L-Last night…I-I was just thinking a-and…the next thing I knew I had cut myself…and then I did it again…and then again…and again…" I trailed off, more tears beginning to swim in my pale eyes. I really didn't know how it had happened, it just had! But it had felt so nice…so _relieving_.

"You're lucky Kyoya didn't see this. He was asking about your wrist."

I rubbed the back of my neck cautiously. "O-Oh…"

Haruhi sighed and shook her head, placing my hand on my lap carefully. She couldn't get angry; it would just make things worse. She had to calm down.

"Never again." she said sternly, her brown eyes swirling with concern.

"W-What?"

She pointed at my wrist and glared. "Never again. The next time I see a cut anywhere on you that look intentional, I _will_ tell Kyoya, and then you will be in _major_ hell."

I gulped and crossed my heart with my finger. "Y-Yes ma'am."

She nodded once. "Good."

She sighed and rubbed her face with her hands, slouching down and resting her elbows on her knees. She couldn't believe that that had just happened.

I stared at her sorrowfully, guilt swirling in my pale blue eyes. I had never meant to worry Haruhi. She had such a hard life already, and here I was complaining about my brother when she had a dead mother to deal with.

I sighed and leaned back on the couch. I was such a bad person.

"Haruhi…" I mumbled, catching her attention.

She raised an eyebrow cautiously. "Yeah, Mai?"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "This question is random…but…is it…is it hard being in the Host Club? Y'know…as a girl pretending to be a guy?"

Haruhi had a confused look on her face. Why had he just asked that randomly? This had nothing to do with the cuts on his wrist.

Or did it?

Haruhi shook her head. "No, not really. I kinda just ignore it."

My face scrunched and I gripped my knees again. "Oh…" I whispered.

So, she was stronger than me in _this_ aspect too?

"Why do you ask?"

I didn't look at her. I couldn't. I felt like I would shatter at any moment, like a fragile porcelain doll sitting on the edge of a high shelf. I kept my eyes closed and my head cocked back facing towards the ceiling as I leaned into the couch even more.

"I…guess I can trust you…" I whispered, placing a hand to my head.

"What do you mean?"

I sighed and pointed to my bag at the corner of the couch across from us.

"Hand me my wallet, please. I have to show you something."

Haruhi nodded and did as told, standing up and fetching my wallet like I had requested. She handed it to me and I opened my eyes, opening the tiny black object and flipping to a picture in it that I had carried around with me the day I got a hold of it.

I showed her the picture and she took the wallet from me, examining the two people on the small piece of paper.

There was a redheaded girl that seemed to be around eight, and she was carrying a young redheaded boy on her shoulders. Both children were smiling and the boy was pointing to a flower on the ground, and the girl looked like she was laughing.

Haruhi raised an eyebrow. She was confused. Why was Mai showing this to her?

"Who are these people?" Haruhi asked, glancing at the boy on the couch. Now that Haruhi thought about it, Mai looked like the young boy in the picture.

So then who was the girl?

"It's me…" I sighed, looking at the ceiling. "And my brother, Koji."

Haruhi's eyes widened and her mouth fell open in shock. No, that couldn't be true. Mai was the second toughest guy on campus! He had beat up two guys Mori's size at the beach! He was so handsome and boy-like! This couldn't be true!

"Y-You're..."

"Haruhi," I cut her off, already knowing what she was going to say. "You're not the only girl here. I'm a girl, too."

Haruhi wanted to say something, _anything _to get rid of the awkward silence between us. But there was nothing she could say, nothing she could do to make this situation any less shocking.

"You've…changed." Haruhi stated, glancing back at the picture and then back at me. "…a lot."

I moved my eye gaze towards her slowly, cautiously. My eyes were narrowed and my brows were in a thin straight line. I looked so tired, so aged in just a few seconds.

If Haruhi could use one word to describe my face at that moment, it would be _pained_.

"I know." I replied, my voice hoarse and dry. I pointed to the girl in the picture and stared at her. Haruhi did the same.

That wasn't me. It was a completely different person. I had changed so much that it didn't even look like a memory anymore. To me, that girl wasn't me. That was my innocence that had vanished years ago.

"It's hard to say but…" I took a pause to take in a deep breath. "Haruhi…that's how I was…before my world died."

* * *

**ANOTHER IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER! IF YOU DO NOT READ THIS I WILL EAT YOU!**

**So, if you all took my advice and looked up "Wanted" by EibonVirgo and followed her story, you would have seen that Mai made a guest star appearance! And not only is Mai in **_**that**_** chapter, but she is going to be one of the main characters in the fanfic! Fangirl squeal! (And we've also been giving each other ideas for our fanfics during school, so I now have some pretty funny chapters in mind!)**

**Anyway, I decided to make it a long chapter because I haven't posted in a while.**

**Although it was dramatic, I think I really like this chapter! (And don't worry, the next chapter will be funny. I don't really like posting depressing chapter after depressing chapter.) I hope you all liked this chapter, because I know I did!**

**I feel like I'm forgetting to say something but…oh well!**

**Don't forget to follow, favorite, and review! You all know how much I love reviews, and it motivates me to write faster!**

**See you in the next chapter! (Where a new OC is going to make an appearance! Yahoo!)**

**-Maiya Tsuki Takahashi**


	15. Chapter 15

**Hello hello my fellow fanfictioners! (Why do I always start with that?)**

**Anyway, welcome to another chapter of Kyoya's apprentice! Thank you so much for the **_**lovely **_**reviews. (As always!)**

**I hope it didn't take too long to post this chapter. (Sorry, I've been busy lately. It really sucks.)**

**Before you begin reading, let me just say that I'm sorry for typos in the story. Currently I am writing rough drafts of these chapters on my IPod at school and then emailing them to myself when I get the chance to post things. I normally catch some typos, but I tend to miss some because I'm just stupid that way.**

**Anyway, nothing more to say than sit back, relax, and enjoy!**

* * *

I sighed as I stirred my tea with a Pocky stick, watching as the heat from the liquid made the chocolate melt into the already sweet drink. I brought my cup to my lips and sipped it carefully, as I had been taught to do to look more like a gentleman. I smiled as I tasted how delicious the drink had become.

'_Milk tea with four lumps of sugar and melted chocolate from the Pocky_.' I thought, setting my drink down. _'What could possibly be better?'_

I rested my head on my hand and continued to stir my tea lazily. Not that the drink needed stirring, I was just bored.

It had been two weeks since the little incident between me and Haruhi. She had been shocked to know that I was a girl, but also a bit relieved. We didn't have much time to speak with each other because she had guests, so she gave my picture back to me and told me to go home and rest. She gave me a soft kiss on my head and told me that I was beautiful either way, which made me teary eyed, of course. Haruhi was such a nice friend, and so caring too!  
After that, I had gotten dressed in my normal clothes and left the Host Club without anyone knowing. (Of course, I got in trouble with Kyoya for sneaking out and ditching, but that's beside the point.)  
Haruhi and I had a stronger bond with each other after that day, and I was very grateful for that. I loved having her as a friend. She was almost like a sister!

"Penny for your thoughts?" my guest asked, making me jump a little in surprise. I had completely forgotten that she was there. (Shows how much I actually care about hosting, doesn't it?)

"O-Oh, I'm so sorry!" I apologized, smiling sheepishly. "I was just so mesmerized by your beauty that I got lost in my thoughts." _'Damn, nice save.'_

The girl's face flushed red and she held her hands up to her cheeks. "Oh Mai-kun, you're too kind!"

I smiled sweetly and cocked my head to the side. That was my "cute look" that the girls absolutely _adored_.

"But it's true! Your beauty is absolutely stunning!"

The girl's face grew even redder and she giggled her fangirl giggle, just like every idiot girl that requested me did when I would say something nice.

Don't get me wrong, I was being sweet and kind on the outside, but on the inside I was trying not to puke from how disgusting and romantic I sounded.

I mentally shuddered. I _hated_ romance.

The girl suddenly stopped her giggles and stared at something behind me cautiously. I tensed as I felt a cold hand on my shoulder and turned around slowly, prepared to be looking at death in the eyes.  
I relaxed slightly as I faced Kyoya, but a part of me was still scared. Depending on what mood Kyoya was in, sometimes it was better to be facing death instead.

"I'm sure you both are having _so much_ fun, but the time is up for this appointment." he said, pushing up his glasses.

The girl sighed but stood up, fanning out her dress, and she turned to me with a smile.

"Oh well, it was fun while it lasted!" she said, beginning to walk away with a wave. "I'll see you tomorrow, Mai-kun!"

I waved goodbye and smiled. "See you tomorrow, Ellie-chan!"

The girl giggled and walked off, and I turned my attention to Kyoya who was writing in his black book. Seriously, just what the hell did he write in that thing that was so important?

"She seems very fond of you." he spoke up, not bothering to even glance at me.

I shrugged my shoulders. "She's one of my regulars. She's ok, I guess. She's really polite, super smart, smiles a lot and she's always so cheerful and nice." I brushed a hand through my hair with a sigh. "It's kinda annoying."

Kyoya smiled slightly but nothing more. He closed his book and glanced at me. "You have no more guests. You're done for the day."

"Sweet!" I beamed, standing up quickly. "I can go home, right?"

"Not yet." Kyoya smirked. He loved ruining my happiness.

My expression instantly fell with my mood. "Why not?"

He pushed up his glasses and crossed his arms. "Because we have a Host meeting after everyone is done with their appointments. You need to be there."

"Ugh, gross." I whined, slumping back into my chair. "All we do is talk about profit and shit and you use all these big words that I don't know. The biggest word I know is _encyclopedia_."

"Can you even _spell_ encyclopedia?" he asked, taunting me with a smirk. He decided not to smack me for using the word "shit", but that was because his ruler was all the way across the room and he didn't want to go get it.

I glared at him. "Shut up."

"Mai-kun!" I heard, but before I could turn around I felt a pair of arms wrap around my shoulders. I looked up and saw Haruhi grinning at me, and I smiled back as she let go and sat on the arm of the chair next to me.

"How was hosting today?" she asked, straightening her jacket.

I shrugged. "Y'know. Boring, as usual."

She laughed. "Yeah, tell me about it." She glanced at Kyoya and then back at me. It didn't seem like he was listening, he was too busy writing in his book again.

"Did you eat today?" she asked, poking my stomach. Ever since that little _incident_ between us, she would always make sure to check up on me every day. She'd check my wrists for cuts, she'd make sure that I was eating, and she would make sure that I was getting enough sleep.

I shooed her hand away and rolled my eyes. "Yes mother, I did."

She punched me in the arm playfully. "Don't call me that! I'm just making sure you're taking care of yourself!"

"I am, I am." I sighed, running a hand through my hair. "I ate instant ramen for breakfast and I had a slice of cake for lunch."

"That's it?" Haruhi asked, raising an eyebrow. "Mai, you need to eat more than that! No wonder you're so skinny!"

"I'm not _that_ skinny." I pointed out, placing a hand on my torso. _'Huh, that's weird. I can kinda feel my ribs.'_

"I beg to differ." Kyoya cut in, lazily pointing his pen towards me. "You're the thinnest person I know."

"Yeah! You're even thinner than me!" Haruhi joined in, now happy that Kyoya had been listening to back her up.

I sighed and shook my head. It wasn't _my_ fault that I didn't have a lot of food at home.

"That's so _not_ true, Haru-chan. You're_ way_ skinnier than I am!"

"I am not!" Haruhi protested. "Don't try and tell me you're not skinny. I saw you at the beach with a shirt off! I could almost see your ribs!"

I sighed again and stood up, then started to place the teacups on a tray so that I could take them into the kitchen. I rolled my eyes and shooed her comment away lazily with a wave of my hand. "I'm telling you guys, I'm _not_ skinny. So what if you can kinda see my ribs? That doesn't mean anything."

I continued to place the remaining teacups on a tray, but I squeaked in shock as a pair of strong arms wrapped around my waist and hoisted me into the air. I brushed my bangs out of my eyes to see that Kyoya had slung me over his shoulder, and Haruhi was trying not to laugh by covering her mouth with her hand.

"You're as light as Honey-senpai." Kyoya stated, glancing back at me with a smirk. He was enjoying torturing me.

"Put me down!" I whined, kicking my legs like a child. "You know I hate being picked up! Put me down! Put me down! Put me down!"

Kyoya set his notebook down on the table and picked up the tea tray, ignoring my growls of protest.

"Please make sure no one touches the book, Haruhi. I'm going to take this into the kitchen really quickly."

Haruhi nodded and waved a goodbye to me with a smirk as Kyoya turned and began to walk to the kitchen. I glared at her and mouthed "You've left me at the hands of Satan". She simply laughed put her hands behind her head, not caring.

Kyoya pushed the kitchen door open with his foot and stepped inside. He set the tea tray down on the counter and put the cups in the sink, the whole time not bothering to put me down.

"Hey!" I growled, hoisting myself up enough to glare at him. "I said put me down! I hate people picking me up!"

He rolled his eyes and set me down, chuckling evilly at my annoyed expression.

"You act so much like a child." he said, pushing up his glasses.

I glared at him and puffed my cheeks in anger. "I am _not_ a child! I just hate it when people pick me up!"

Kyoya smirked. "But you're just the right height for people to pick you up. You're so small."

I stomped my foot on the ground and pointed a finger at him. "I am _not_ small!" I protested, not very well might I add. "I am _two inches_ taller than Haruhi!"

Kyoya crossed his arms and smiled sarcastically. "Like I said, you're small."

I crossed my arms and glared at him like a five year old. "I am not!"

"You are so."

"I am not!"

"You are so."

"I am not!"

"Hey, uh, sorry to interrupt your little love quarrel , but-"

"The king needs to see Kyoya."

I turned my attention to the twins that had come into the kitchen and glared at them. What the hell did they mean by "love quarrel"? (And more importantly, what was a love quarrel?)

Kyoya sighed and pushed up his glasses, ignoring their obnoxious comment. "Very well." He glanced at me and smirked. "Since you don't have work, do the dishes."

I stuck my tongue out at the back of their heads as they walked out of the kitchen, leaving me alone with a sink of dirty dishes and an awkward silence. I sighed and ran a hand through my hair, taking a glance at the dishes at the sink. My face scrunched in disgust at the thought of actually doing something productive, and I shoved my hands into my pockets lazily.

"I am _so not_ doing the dishes."

I snuck out of the kitchen as I saw Kyoya's back towards me, and I ran to my bag and slung it over my shoulder and ran to the door to make my escape. There wasn't really any good reason for me to stay for the meeting, so why not ditch? That _is_ what delinquents are best at, after all, and I was still a delinquent at heart.

I took a glance back at Kyoya as I flung to door open and hopped outside, immediately regretting not looking where I was going as I ran into someone, causing both of us to fall onto the cold hard floor.  
I groaned in pain and rubbed my head.

"Jeez. Sorry for that. I wasn't watching where I was going." God, I hated it when I ran into people.

"That's alright." the other person said kindly and my ears twitched at the sound of his voice. It sounded so..._familiar_.

I opened my eyes and stared in shock at the boy I had knocked to the floor. He had blonde hair with fluorescent purple highlights pulled into a high ponytail that ended at his shoulders. His eyes were bright green and sparkled as he looked at me apologetically. "I shouldn't have been walking so close to the doors. Sorry, that was my fault."

I stood up slowly, cautiously, as I continued to stare at the boy in front of me. Could this really be him? After three years, could it really be true?

I extended my hand to the boy and he took it gratefully with a smile. I hoisted him up to his feet and continued to stare, which he soon noticed and he raised an eyebrow.

"Am I interesting or just hot?" he asked with a smirk.

I smiled wide and put my hands to my mouth. It really was him!

"Julius!" I cried happily, grasping his hands in mine. "There's no mistaking that it's you! How have you been? Has your family been well? God, I missed you so much!"

Julius' eyes widened and he gave me a questioning look.

"How do you know my name?"

I squeezed his hands tighter. Surely he must remember me! He couldn't have forgotten me just after three years!

"Jui-kun, it's me, Maiya!"

Julius' eyes widened and he gasped a shaky breath. "Boo-chan? Is it really you?" He looked me up and down breathlessly. "What did you do to your hair? And why are you in that uniform?"

Tears perked in the corners of my eyes. He did remember me!

"It's awful, Jui-kun! I had to enroll in this school as a boy! And then if that wasn't bad enough, I was forced to join the Host Club!" I sighed a long over exaggerated sigh. "Oh, and they think I'm gay."

Julius raised an eyebrow and gave me a questioning look. "Why do they think you're gay?"

I shrugged and shook my head. "I honestly have no idea." I brushed off the topic of the annoyingly idiotic hosts and turned my attention back to him. I smiled brightly and almost jumped up and down in joy. "I can't believe you're here! It's been so long!"

Julius smiled wide and hugged me close. "I've missed you so much, Boo-chan!"

I happily returned the hug and squeezed him tightly. "I've missed you too."

Julius released me and looked me up and down again, taking in my features.

"Y'know," he said with a smile, placing a hand on my shoulder, "despite what you've done to your beautiful hair- which I will have to punish you for later- you haven't changed a bit."

I sighed happily and smiled. "You don't know how happy I am to hear you say that."

I looked behind me and noticed that the doors to the Host Club were still open. I turned back towards my friend and tugged on his sleeve. "C'mon, let's go talk in the Host Club. I don't have any more guests today, so we can hang out."

I led him into the Host Club and sat him down at my table, seeing as how all the couches were taken. Kyoya was still occupied by talking to Tamaki, so he hadn't even noticed me come in with my friend.

I crossed my legs and twirled my rattail in between my fingers.

"So, how did you get into the school?" I asked with a sly smile. "This place doesn't really have tight security, but it's kinda hard to miss a boy with fluorescent purple highlights."

He smiled wide and flipped his hair. That was a habit that he had developed a while ago that I had always found funny. It made him seem even gayer than he already was.

Oh, I forgot to mention that he was gay huh? Oops.

"I just enrolled in the school. My family had to move down from up North and they wanted to put me in a rich school."

My eyes widened and I gaped at him. "No way! You're kidding!"

He shook his head and his smile widened. "Nope, I'm officially a member of this school." He fished something out of his pocket and handed it to me. "That's my I.D. card. The picture is totally fab, right?"  
I laughed at the phrase he had used and nodded. The picture actually did look pretty nice. I handed it back to him and sighed happily.

"Finally I won't be surrounded by nothing but idiots."

Julius laughed and waved his hand in the air. "Oh c'mon, they can't be _that_ bad."

I narrowed my eyes and lowered my voice to a hushed tone. "I beg to differ."

Julius continued to laugh and I sighed, running a hand through my bangs. Honestly, sometimes just _thinking_ about the hosts put me in a bad mood. The only ones that I could really tolerate were Haruhi and Mori.

Julius suddenly became quiet and he put a shy hand to his mouth and stared in horror at something behind me.

"Who is this?" asked a cold voice.

I flinched and turned around slowly to see Kyoya scowling at Julius, and he turned his attention to me with a glare as I gulped timidly.

"Oh...um, Kyoya, this is Julius." I turned to Julius and pointed at my mentor. "And Julius, this is Kyoya."

Julius stood up and stuck his hand out excitedly; ignoring the fear that he had just felt moments ago. "It's a pleasure to meet you!"

Kyoya took a glance at Julius' hand and crossed his arms. "I'm sure it is."

Julius recoiled and sat back down slowly and I laughed nervously. I just knew that this was going to happen.

"What are you doing in the Host Club?" Kyoya asked, raising an annoyed eyebrow. He quickly hid his anger with his fake gentleman smile though, not wanting to seem dark and intimidating like he normally was.

Julius smiled devilishly. "I just moved here and transferred into the school. Boo-chan and I ran into each other on his way out. We haven't seen each other in three years so it's kinda a big deal." he ended his sentence with a devious hair flip, and his grin widened. Now he was just _trying_ to annoy the Shadow King.

I put my hand to my head and sighed. Why couldn't my friends _ever_ get along with Kyoya?

Kyoya narrowed his eyes. "Boo-chan?"

I gulped and waved a nervous hand in the air. "J-Just a nickname he gave me when we were kids." I turned to Julius and smiled. "We kinda grew up together, and then we formed a band. Hey, speaking of the band, how are the others?"

Julius put his hands behind his head, completely content with the fact that I had turned my attention away from Kyoya. "Oh. We broke up after you moved away to his _god awful_ place. James went on to another band, and the twins, Kate and Tate, decided to just focus on academics instead." He sighed and shook his head. "What a sad, sad life, focusing on grades and school. That's _so not_ fun."

Kyoya's gentleman smile twitched into a scowl for a quick moment, but then he covered it up again with his mask of ice. "I assure you that academics are _very_ important." he growled, adjusting his glasses. "And Mai, you can't just have your friends come in here whenever you feel like it."

Julius smirked again and stood up. He walked over to my seat and then sat in my lap, chuckling to himself as he wrapped his arms around my neck. Kyoya raised his eyebrow in annoyance.

"But I'm not just a _friend_! I'm Boo-chan's boyfriend!"

My face turned red and I was about to protest, but Julius cut me off by covering my mouth with his hand.

"We decided to keep it a long distance relationship. We figured we'd run into each other after high school, but it looks like fate had other plans for us!"

Julius looked at me with puppy dog eyes and he gave a fake pout. "I hope my Boo-chan hasn't been unfaithful to me. I remember how you used to be _such_ a player."

Kyoya's eyebrow twitched and I inwardly winced. Julius was just _trying_ to piss him off now, and it wasn't funny!

I had _never_ been a "player"! I had never even had a crush on anyone before!  
Julius was going to get me killed!

"I see." Kyoya said, giving a smile which I knew was fake. His voice became louder as he stated, "Well Mai, I'm very happy for you and your _boyfriend_. Congratulations."

I saw Tamaki's head instantly shoot up and before I knew it, he was at my side, holding my face in his hands.

"My son has a _boyfriend_?!" he screeched, ripping Julius off of me and picking me up in a strangling hug. He held me protectively in his arms and turned towards Julius, who was ultimately confused.

"Why didn't Daddy know about this?! Daddy does not approve!" He pointed an accusing finger towards Julius and flailed it in the air. "He looks like a delinquent! My son _can't_ be dating a delinquent!"

"_I'm_ a delinquent." I muffled into his shirt, raising my finger to make a point.

Tamaki began to cry fake, over exaggerated tears. "You are an _ex _delinquent! My son cannot _possibly_ be dating this boy! I completely forbid it!"

I pushed Tamaki off of me and rubbed my neck, seeing as he had been strangling me before. I narrowed my eyes and crossed my arms in annoyance. Now I was getting upset. Who cares if it was lie? Now I was going to play along!

"I don't think you should have a right to say who I _can_ and _cannot_ date. Especially because we were _already_ dating _before_ I met you."

Tamaki gaped at me and opened and closed his mouth like a fish out of water, not being able to find the right words to say. I did have a point. None of the Hosts had even known me for a year yet, but the young blonde delinquent had known me since I was a child! Tamaki recoiled into his emo corner and let his purple aura swallow him whole, leaving me to laugh at him for his failure at trying to control me.

I turned to Kyoya with an evil smirk on my face. He was writing in his black notebook, and his glasses were shining with anger as he furiously scribbled something down onto the paper.

I sighed and shook my head slowly. "I knew this would happen." I rubbed my head and groaned out of annoyance. "Why can't I go to a _normal_ school, full of _normal _people?"

Julius slinked his arm across my shoulder and smiled. "Cuz your uncle is the principal so you get into this school for free."

I slumped my shoulders and hung my head. "I sometimes wish I had never moved her from up North. Life was so much fun until I moved to this side of Japan."

Julius frowned and spoke in a hushed tone. "Yeah but there was no way you could have stayed due to the _accident_ with your fath-"

I slapped my hand over his mouth to silence him before he continued on with what he was saying. He had been speaking in a quieter tone, but at the mention of an _accident _Kyoya's head had perked up and his glasses shone with anticipation to know more.

Julius' eyes sparked with a momentary shock at my actions. Why had I just done that?

I hid my eyes with my bangs and spoke in a harsh tone to let him know I wasn't messing around. "We don't talk about that _accident_ here, Julius."

Julius nodded sadly and I uncovered his mouth, revealing his frown.

I glanced towards Kyoya quickly to see him smirking and pushing up his glasses. He crossed his arms and turned is head towards me, flashing the gleam on his glasses as his eyes sparkled with the look they always got when he was going to push for information.

I gulped and looked away from him, quickly turning my attention towards Julius instead.

"Hey, Jui-kun, I have a meeting in a few minutes so let's talk outside for a second."

I pulled Julius out of the Host Club by the sleeve of his jacket and closed the doors behind us. Once outside, I leaned forward on the large doors and closed my eyes, letting out the breath that I didn't know I had been holding.

Julius held his hand out to me cautiously. "B-Boo-chan…I-I'm sorry…"

I waved him off with a lazy hand and sunk further into the door. "It's fine, just…don't mention things like that in the Host Club, especially near Kyoya."

Julius made a sound like he was about to say something, but he caught himself and looked down sadly, letting his arm fall limply to the side. "They don't know about your past…do they Boo-chan?"

I hesitated for a moment before shaking my head. "They only know about Koji. And they know my parents split up. But that's all."

"So they don't know about…y'know…" he made a gesture to his chest.

I clutched the part of my shirt where my scar was and sighed. "No…they don't know…and I don't want them to _ever _find out."

Julius placed a comforting hand on my shoulder. I turned to him and he smiled sadly at me, giving me a look of concern.

"Don't worry Boo-chan…things will get better. Do you remember that quote you used to always tell me when I was sad? The one about the rainbows?"

I smiled lightly and nodded my head. "Everyone wants happiness, no one wants pain, but you can't have a rainbow without any rain."

Julius smiled brightly and hugged me close to him. "That's right, so don't worry about all the stress in life, ok? I'm sure coming to the Host Club is good for you, you just don't know it yet."

I sighed and hugged him back, gripping the back of his shirt sadly. "I hope you're right, Jui-kun."

Julius pulled away from me and winked confidently. "Since when have I ever steered you wrong? Don't worry Boo-chan, I already know that these people love you as much as I do." He nudged my arm playfully with his elbow. "And I bet some good things will happen between you and that cute glasses guy."

I raised an eyebrow and cocked my head to the side in confusion. "What do you mean?"

Julius turned around and began to walk away, waving a lazy hand in the air. "Never mind, never mind. I'll tell you when you're older." He turned his head to give me one last wink as he stuck out his tongue. "See you tomorrow, boyfriend."

I rolled my eyes and smiled. "See you tomorrow, crazy idiot."

He laughed and walked off, leaving me with his awkward words lingering in my head. _'And I bet some good things will happen between you and that cute glasses guy.'_

I crossed my arms and closed my eyes in thought. Just what the hell had Julius meant by that? What did he mean by "good things", and why would they only happen with Kyoya? Why not any of the other Hosts? I stood there for a while simply pondering what my friend had said, when someone opened the doors and pulled me out of thoughts.

'_Jeez, speak of the devil.'_ I thought to myself, turning to face my mentor that had stepped outside into the hallway.

He looked around and then glanced at me, pushing up his glasses and hiding his eyes with their normal shine.

"I take it that Julius has left." he said, though it almost sounded as if he was forcing himself to say my friend's name without gagging.

I shrugged my shoulders and shoved my hands into my pockets. "Yeah, but I'll see him tomorrow." I glanced up at Kyoya cautiously. "If that's ok with you."

Kyoya raised an eyebrow and gave me a questioning look. "Why wouldn't it be alright with me?" he asked, although he already knew the answer. He just wanted to seem like he didn't care when he really did. That's just how he always was.

I looked at the ground and rubbed the back of my neck. "Just seemed like you didn't like him…" I looked back up at Kyoya with a smile. "He's really not bad at all. I've known him since I was six. He may seem like a smartass at first, but he's really cool. You'll like him soon enough, I'm sure of it."

Kyoya made a small "hn" noise and turned his attention to his notebook, scanning whatever he had written down with what seemed like an angry frown.

I looked up at him and rocked from my heels to my toes awkwardly, trying to pass this awkward silence by keeping to myself. I was really hoping that Kyoya wasn't going to mention the _accident_ that Julius had mentioned before. I _really_ didn't want to talk about it.

I watched Kyoya turn the page and continue reading, his brows furrowing as his frown deepened. Whatever he had written, it seemed like it was making him angry.

I sighed as I thought of what he could have possibly written to make himself so angry. Knowing him, he probably jotted something down about Julius. But that's where I was confused. I mean, why had he been so upset when Julius had introduced himself as my boyfriend? It just didn't make any sense!

Unless…he was jealous?

I looked back up at him and held my hand over my mouth to suppress a laugh.

'_Oh god! __**Kyoya**__? __**Jealous**__? Pft, yeah right!'_

I took another glance towards Kyoya, still trying to suppress my giggles. His brows were still furrowed and his nose was scrunched, like it always was when he was mad about something. My smile dropped and I sighed, seeing that this was actually bugging him more than I thought. Looking at him and seeing how upset he was, it killed me. I mean, I could have said something about Julius _not_ being my boyfriend, but instead I had played along like it was nothing! And now my mentor was upset for God knows why.

I sighed and shook my head. Why was I such a bad person?

I looked at him sheepishly from the corners of my eyes and wrung my wrists. What should I do to try and get him back to normal? If I said anything he could easily take it the wrong way and use it against me, so talking was out of the question.

But if I couldn't say anything to him, then what could I do?

A dark blush slowly crept up upon my cheeks as I thought of an idea. It was so daring and risky that it actually might just work.

I straightened and took a deep breath and turned towards him shyly, looking at the ground in a desperate attempt to not make eye contact.

"H-Hey…Senpai?"

Kyoya tore himself away from his book and looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

I hugged him tightly and buried my face in his chest, gripping the back of his shirt with my shaking fingers. This was the only thing that I could think of to try and cheer him up. Sometimes hugs were just comforting, y'know?

Kyoya's eyes widened in shock and he froze, not quite sure what to do. He was rarely ever hugged.

"Mai…"

"I don't really know why you're angry, Senpai, but if I did anything to make you mad I'm really sorry." I looked up at him with sad eyes and frowned. "I'll try to not piss you off from now on, ok?"

Kyoya stared at me in shock for a while, not moving an inch. He was so shocked that this was happening. He was shocked that Mai was actually _hugging_ him.

Kyoya shook his thoughts away as he noticed that he had been staring absentmindedly for a few seconds. He let his lips twitch into a small smile and he slowly wrapped his arms around my shoulders, holding me closely with a soft sigh.

"You're so weird."

I smiled softly and nestled into his shirt, sighing happily. I was glad that I could make him happy after he seemed so upset before. I simply hated it when he was mad. And like I had said to Haruhi at the beach, it was my job to make Kyoya happy, so that's exactly what I was going to. No matter what, I was now determined to make sure that Kyoya was happy, even if it meant that I had to hug him.

Even though Kyoya was known as the Shadow King and had a block of ice surrounding his heart, I could somehow feel his chest warming as I hugged him closer to me. I knew that I had to melt his ice soon, and I knew that I could do it if I tried hard enough.

I just needed to take it one hug at a time.

* * *

**Wow, I am really not proud of this chapter at all.**

***Sigh* Oh well, at least I got it posted.**

**I hope you all liked this chapter, even though I don't.**

**So, what do you think will happen when Julius comes back in the next chapter, and how do you think Kyoya will react? Why do you think Kyoya hates Julius so much when he doesn't know anything about him? And what is this **_**accident**_** that Julius and Mai were talking about?**

**I want to hear all of your answers, so make sure you follow, favorite, and review!**

**Love you guys! See you in the next chapter!**

**-Maiya Tsuki Takahashi**

**(P.s. If any of you like Pokémon and support preciousmetalshipping (Gold x Silver) can you check out my oneshot that I wrote for school called "Throw the Pain Away"? Even if you don't like or know Pokémon, I'd still be really happy if you read it! Thanks guys!)**


	16. Chapter 16

**Hello all! (Wait, that's not what I start with…)**

**Hello hello fellow fanfictioners! (That's better!)**

**I hope you all are doing well. I am in another depressed and suckish mood, (when aren't I?) so I decided to start working on the next chapter.**

**Thank you so much for all of the reviews! I am so glad that you all like Julius. I was so worried that everyone would hate him!**

**This chapter is going to be a dramatic one. Kyoya is facing his inner thoughts! Bum bum buuuummmm! *lighting flash***

**Well, I think that's it. I feel like I'm forgetting to say something but…eh.**

**Sit back, relax, and enjoy!**

**(Oh, and I don't own anything I mention in this chapter. Such as an iPod and whatnot. So don't sue me!)**

* * *

I propped my feet up on the small coffee table lazily and sipped my tea, sighing happily is it brought warmth to my cold body. I glanced at the clock on the wall and sighed, setting my drink down and putting my hands behind my head. I had no guests today, but I was still waiting for someone. But of course, he was late, as usual.

"Mai-kun!" I heard as a pair of arms wrapped tightly around my shoulders from behind me.

I opened a lazy eye and looked up at Haruhi who was grinning down at me happily. I smiled wide and turned around so I could hug her.

"Why are you here today?" she asked, setting a tray of empty glasses down so that she could sit next to me. "Last I heard, you have no guests today."

I propped my feet up on the coffee table again and grinned. "Yeah, but I'm waiting for my friend. I want to introduce him to the Hosts." I turned to where the twins where seated and added, "Which reminds me, I have to tell you and the twins something before my friend shows up."

I stood up and quickly walked over to the twin's table, causing their guests attention to turn to me.

"H-Hey, Mai-kun!" one of the girls greeted with a shy smile, causing the two other girls to huddle in next to her, waiting in anticipation for my response.

I turned my attention to them for a brief moment and nodded my head in a "sup" motion.

"I gotta borrow your boys for a sec. That ok with you?"

The girls all blushed and giggled a little, happy at the fact that I had actually spoken to them for once. The main girl nodded and I smiled in response.

"Thanks, it'll only take a moment."

I grabbed the twins by the collar of their shirts before they could protest and dragged them back to the couch where I had left Haruhi. I let them go and they turned around to face me, un-amused frowns plastered on their faces.

"Don't just drag us away from our guests, Mai-kun!" Hikaru protested, waving a finger at me.

"Yeah! We were just about to do our brotherly love act!" Kaoru jumped in, crossing his arms.

I rolled my eyes and shoved my hands into my pockets. "Hey, I asked first." My lips grew into a slow smirk as I narrowed my eyes evilly and added, "I just thought you'd want to know about a little prank that I'm pulling on Kyoya."

Haruhi's eyes widened and she took in a deep breath. "Mai, are you crazy?! You're playing a prank on _Kyoya_?!"

I waved my hands at her, motioning for her to stay quiet in case he was somewhere close by. I cautiously looked around and then ducked my head, the twins and Haruhi doing the same as I whispered my plan.

"Alright, so I have this old friend named Julius, and he recently just got into this school. He came to the Host Club yesterday, and when Kyoya asked who he was, Julius jumped in and told him that he was my boyfriend!" I looked around again to make sure no one else was listening, then continued my story once I saw that the coast was clear. "For some reason, Kyoya got all butt hurt about it and got Tamaki involved. They both don't like Julius, but I want to keep this thing going for as long as I can. I wanted to tell you guys about it because, well…you actually know I'm a girl and I didn't want you guys thinking that I was dating a gay guy."

Kaoru chuckled and scrunched his nose. "Why would Kyoya get all butt hurt about you having a boyfriend?"

I shrugged my shoulders and sighed. "I honestly have no idea. He gets all like jealous or something. It's really stupid."

Hikaru nudged Kaoru's arm and grinned from ear to ear. "I'm telling you, Kaoru, my theory is right."

Kaoru pondered the thought for a moment, but then shook his head at his twin. "Nah, I still don't see it."

"See what?" I asked, interrupting.

Hikaru turned his attention towards me with an embarrassed grin. He had forgotten that I was there for a moment. "O-Oh, nothing. Never mind."

I raised my eyebrow suspiciously and was about to protest, but was cut off by a familiar voice.

"Hey boyfriend!" Julius said as he wrapped his arms around my waist from behind me, pulling me into a loving hug. He turned his attention to the Hosts in front of me and smiled devilishly.

"Oh dear me, I've forgotten me manners." he said sarcastically while he let go of me. He extended his hand to them and said, "My name is Julius Nakasone, and I'm Mai's boyfriend."

The twins laughed and shook Julius' hand at the same time. "_We're the Hitachiin twins. Pleasure to meet you!"_

Julius was a bit surprised at the fact that they had spoken in unison, but quickly disregarded it as Haruhi shooed the twins off of him and shook his hand softly.

"I'm Haruhi Fujioka, another girl in the Host Club." she said with a kind smile.

Julius was taken aback for a moment before he stuttered nervously and let out a forced laugh. He rubbed the back of his neck and fidgeted slightly. "W-What do you mean _another _girl?" he chuckled out, trying his best not to look suspicious. "A-Are you saying that one of the men in your Host Club is a girl? That's strange! I-I don't see any other girls here!"

The twins smirked and spoke with hushed voices so that no one would overhear them. "_The three of us are the only ones that know Mai's secret. Don't worry though, we'll play along with your little prank."_

Julius let out the breath he didn't know he had been holding and sighed out of relief. Sometimes he was _really _bad under pressure and couldn't make up lies on the spot. But only sometimes.

He smiled at them gratefully and said, "That's good. Thanks guys."

Hikaru laughed and slapped Julius' shoulder. "Don't thank us! It's our pleasure to help you screw with Kyoya in any way we possibly can!"

Kaoru snickered and slapped his other shoulder. "Yeah! Anyone who pulls pranks on Kyoya is a friend of ours!"

Haruhi calmly brushed a stand of hair out of her face and crossed her arms. "I'm not going to help you with your little game, but I will sit back and watch." **(A/N: You just lost the game AGAIN!)**

Julius grinned from ear to ear and nudged my arm playfully with his elbow. "This is going to be so much fun, Boo-chan! Pulling a prank on that cute glasses guy is a great way to start out my first days here!"

Hikaru snickered and covered his mouth with his hand so that he wouldn't laugh. "Boo-chan?"

I rolled my eyes and grunted in annoyance. "Don't ask. It's a childhood nickname."

Kaoru began to laugh as my cheeks turned red in embarrassment. Now that I thought about it, it _was_ a pretty embarrassing nickname once other people found out about it.

"Stop laughing!" I snapped, smacking him on the back of the head.

He held the place where I had hit but continued to laugh, causing Hikaru to begin laughing as well.

"Boo-chan! Oh god, what a cute name for the _tough guy_ on campus!" Hikaru fell to the floor and clutched his stomach with his hand.

I clenched my fists at my sides and growled. "Shut up!"

Julius looked at me with an eyebrow raised. He really didn't see anything funny. "Did I say something wrong? Why are they laughing?"

I rolled my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. "Because they're _idiots_, that's why."

Julius made a short "oh" before turning his attention back to the twins, who were now _both _laughing on the floor.

I shook my head slowly and shoved my hands into my pockets. _'Idiots.'_

"I see you brought your boyfriend again." came a cold voice from behind us.

The twins stopped laughing as Julius and I tensed, turning around slowly to face a quite angry Shadow King. He was writing in his book as usual and his glasses were gleaming in annoyance.

I rubbed the back of my neck nervously and gave a fake laugh. "Y-Yeah well, we haven't seen each other in forever so..."

Kyoya didn't bother to look up at me and continued writing. "Yes, you told me that you hadn't seen each other in three years."

I gulped and turned to Julius for help, eyeing for him to change the subject. He quickly caught on to my worried gaze and turned the conversation towards a different path. He rummaged through his bag for something, and when he found what he was looking for he grinned happily and pulled it out of his bag.

"Hey Boo-chan, remember these?" he said, handing me a pair of purple Skullcandy headphones and an iPod touch.

My eyes widened and my hands trembled with excitement as I recognized what the things in my hands were.

"J-Jui-kun…are these really…"

Julius nodded happily and placed a hand on my shoulder. "Your old headphones and iPod that you left behind. You asked me to hold onto them, remember?"

I nodded happily and gripped them tighter, tears perking in the corners of my eyes. "Mother didn't like the fact that I was into music and she was going to throw these away, but I gave them to you before she got a chance."

Julius winked at me, just to add affect, and smiled warmly. "I knew I'd run into you one day so, they're yours again. I even charged your iPod last night so that you could use it."

I quickly unlocked my old iPod and scrolled through the music. I had quite a few songs. Some were by my favorite artists and some were by me. A soft smile spread across my face as I hugged Julius tightly.

"Thank you so much." I whispered, planting a soft kiss on his forehead. (I could have sworn I saw Kyoya shutter.)

Julius smiled and hugged me back, taking a quick sarcastic glance towards Kyoya as he said, "Don't thank me. I'd do anything for _my_ precious baby."

Kyoya tensed and glared at Julius, locking eyes with him. A momentary lightning streak flashed between the two males before Julius smirked and broke eye contact, letting me go to do one of his famous hair flips.

The twins both looked over my shoulder at the iPod I was holding and read the songs that were on the screen.

Hikaru raised an eyebrow as he snatched the thing away from my hand. "_Paranoia_? I've never heard of that band before." He turned to Kaoru and showed him the songs on the screen. "Have you heard of it?"

Kaoru shook his head and scrolled through some of the songs by the mysterious band. "Never heard of them. But it looks like you have a lot of their songs, Mai." He turned to me with a smirk. "Are you a fanboy?"

Julius suddenly began laughing and he placed his hand on my head, ruffling my hair playfully. "You haven't told them about our band, Mai? What a shame! I thought you'd be so proud of our creation!"

Haruhi spoke up this time, startling me a bit because I had forgotten that she was here. "You two were in a band?"

Julius turned to her with a proud smirk. "We _made_ the band! A guy named James was drummer, these two twins, Kate and Tate, would switch off at being either bass guitar or keyboard, I was the second electric guitar and singer," he cut himself off and trapped me in a headlock, giving me a noogie, "and Mai over here was lead singer and guitar player. You have _quite_ the little star over here."

"Don't forget to credit me for writing most of the songs." I added matter-of-factly.

Julius nodded and released me, slapping me on the back. "Right, right. Anyways, our band's name was _Paranoia_. We were pretty popular actually. Got a lot of gigs at malls and coffee shops."

I nodded and closed my eyes, seeming to be in thought. "I still remember when that weird guy tried to pick a fight with you so I had to step in and kick his ass."

"Oh yeah!" Julius laughed. "How could I forget that?! You totally kicked the shit out of that guy!"

I nodded and crossed my arms. "I accidently broke James' drumsticks on the guy's head though. That sucked. It was a good thing that he had a spare."

Hikaru and Kaoru both sweat dropped before cutting into the conversation. "_Mai, why didn't you ever tell us you were lead singer in a band?"_

I shrugged and shoved my hands into my pockets. "I guess I just didn't really think it was necessary to bring up."

"You should play us something." Haruhi suggested, catching me off guard.

My face instantly grew red as I saw evil smirks stretch across the twin's faces and I gulped in fear. Singing in front of an audience of strangers was way different than singing to an audience of friends. Especially because I hadn't really sang anything for a few years.

"I-I don't think that's s-such a good idea." I stuttered, backing up a few steps.

Hikaru and Kaoru held onto each of my arms, locking me in place in case I tried to run. _"We think it's a great idea." _they cooed, poking my cheeks. _"You should sing us something!"_

I gulped and let out a nervous laugh. "N-No, really, I think that's a very bad idea. I-I haven't practiced a-and everything. I-I think we should just forget about this whole band thing and move onto a different subject."

"Y'know, come to think of it, you've only played the guitar for your guests. You've never sang anything before." Kyoya cut in, taking a pause from writing in his black book to smirk at me. "Are you embarrassed because you actually don't have a nice singing voice? Is that why you don't want to sing for us?"

My eyes narrowed and I broke away from the twins, marching up to my mentor and locking eyes with him angrily.

"Are you implying that I suck at singing?" I snapped, crossing my arms. I normally wouldn't get insulted when people said something bad about me, but when people insulted my singing voice, that's when I tended to get mad.

Kyoya smirked down at me and pushed up his glasses. "I'm just saying that you don't sing at the Host Club for your guests, so we don't know if you suck at singing or not." He paused and closed his black book with a snap. "I'm just saying that _maybe _the reason you don't sing for us is because you're _embarrassed _because you aren't very good at it."

My brows furrowed and I felt my anger boil inside of my stomach, wanting to explode and punch my stupid snot-nosed mentor in his pretty little face.

I pointed my finger at the Shadow King and my expression darkened. "I'll show you that I don't _suck_ at singing." I turned towards Julius, who was watching our conversation carefully. "Jui-kun, follow me. We're gunna sing our song."

Julius' face lit up like the fourth of July as he and the hosts followed me to the piano in the room. "We're gunna sing our song? Really?!" He clapped his hands together and smiled joyfully. "I can't remember the last time we sang that together!"

I nodded and sat down at the piano, pulling up the stool and making myself comfortable. I handed Julius the guitar that I kept next to the piano and he took it gratefully, slipping on the strap and playing a few chords to make sure it was in tune.

"Mai, you play the piano?" Haruhi questioned, raising an eyebrow. She had never seen me play anything but the guitar before.

I nodded and Julius spoke up before I could answer her. "Didn't you know that? Boo-chan knows how to play guitar (acoustic, electric and bass), piano, violin, cello, saxophone, drums, trumpet, and he dabbled in flute but didn't like it that much."

I nodded and cracked my knuckles, placing them on the keys of the piano in front of me. "That stupid thing was so high pitched. It always gave me a headache."

Everyone but Kyoya's mouths fell open as they went through the list of instruments in their heads more than once, trying to picture the small redhead playing each one. They could really only see him playing the guitar.

"Mai, how the heck did you learn how to play so many instruments?!" Hikaru questioned, still trying to count the instruments in his head.

I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly with a small sigh. "When you're alone for a long time and music is your only escape, you learn a lot of things." I chuckled and added, "That, and I had some connections to the music world. Had a pretty cool mentor. He taught me a lot."

Julius strummed another chord on the guitar and brushed his hair out of his face. "So are we gunna do this or are we gunna chit chat?"

I smirked and turned my full attention to the piano. "We're gunna do this. Sit back and get comfortable, Hosts, you're about to witness something amazing."

Julius smiled and positioned his fingers on the right chords. "This is a song that Boo-chan and I claimed to be ours. It was one of our most popular covers."

"_Lay me down_ by _The Dirty Heads_." I said, beginning to block out everything around me so that I could focus on the music, and _only_ the music. I took in a deep breath and closed my eyes, sitting up straight. "Let's go."

**(A/N: **_Italics_**will be Julius singing. **Normal **will be Mai singing. Bold will both singing.)**

I began to tap at the keys in front of me slowly, remembering the intro that I hadn't played in so long. I felt the music begin to flow through me, pounding with my heart and become one with me, each note flowing through my veins like my very own blood.

Julius joined in with the guitar, singing the first verse comfortably.

"_Well this is how it starts Two lovers in the dark  
On the run, from the one That they called Sheriff Spark  
Six guns by their side and bullets around their waist  
Two shots to the sky  
Signal sound for the chase  
The safe was nearly empty and They were nearly free  
But were seen by the Good eye of the mean Billy Green  
And he screamed at the top of his lungs They're on the run  
It's the two outsiders Grab your horses and your guns."_

He cut off to let me sing the chorus, the moment that the Hosts had been waiting for.

"I said I wish that  
We could stay here,  
But I fear our time has come  
We could ride out in the darkness  
Chasing the rising sun  
We gotta pack our bags this instant,  
We're heading south-bound to the next town  
And if we all arrive there so safely,  
Baby you can

Lay me down...  
**Lay me down...  
**Lay me down...  
**Lay me down..."**

Then hosts, including Kyoya, were awestruck at the sound of their friend's voice. Was this voice really coming from the "tough guy" on campus? The one who used to get into fights almost every day? The one who seemed so talentless and broken? It just couldn't be.

I let each note flow through me comfortably without any hesitation as I continued. "Well it's the story of the two  
Always on the move.  
They got nothing left to lose  
'Cept their guns and their wounds  
Now they're crossing borders  
Sheriff's posse on their tail  
They'd rather die together  
Than be stuck up in a cell.

_They drank up all the whiskey and They partied every night  
Like it could be the last The bounty said shoot on sight.  
So they chased the endless summer Though it came with the pride.  
They wouldn't stop running till They found a paradise.  
But the sheriff finally found them with his eyes seeing red.  
So the lovers had to shoot him down and fill him full of lead  
They were finally free To find a place to lay their head  
And when they finally did he looked at her and then he said._

I said I think that we can stay here,  
**Cause I feel our time has come.  
**And we can walk down to the ocean,  
**And sit with the rising sun.  
**So unpack your bags this instant,  
No more running from town to town  
And now that we've arrived so safely,  
Baby you can

Lay me down...  
**Lay me down...  
**Lay me down...  
**Lay me down...**

Well you're my green-eyed girl And I've been running around with you.  
It's the afternoon and we got nothing left to do.  
So wipe the dirt off, or Take your shirt off,  
And we should go hit the cantina, We got work off.

_I said it's hot outside Let me go swimming in your eyes.  
We've been running for a while  
Why don't you lay down and make smile.  
I could never ask for nothing better than this.  
It's just tequila and the beach, that's why its salty when we kiss._

I said I think that we can stay here,  
**Cause I feel our time has come.  
**And we can walk down to the ocean,  
**And sit with the rising sun.**

So unpack your bags this instant,  
No more running from town to town  
And now that we've arrived so safely,  
Baby you can

Lay me down...  
**Lay me down...  
**Lay me down...  
**Lay me down... Lay me down...**"

I finished the song carefully, hitting each note softly and listening as the music that Julius and I had created slowly faded away, becoming a soft silence that had fallen over the Host Club. I snapped back to reality and looked around, noticing that now not only were the Hosts staring at me, but the guests as well! In fact, the _whole room_ was staring at me!

I stood up and continued to scan the room with cautious eyes, concentrating on the shocked faces of my friends. Even Mori seemed to be shocked!

"Was it bad?" I asked cautiously as the room continued to be silent. I turned towards Julius with a sad frown, fearing that Kyoya had been right all along. "We sucked, didn't we?"

Suddenly a slow clap began, and I turned my head in shock. The twins were standing there, smiling like idiots and clapping slowly. Haruhi soon joined in, and then so did the rest of the Hosts (including Kyoya, but he really didn't seem all too thrilled to be clapping). Suddenly the room erupted in a frenzy of cheers and squeals, causing tears to perk in my eyes as I hugged Julius tightly around the neck.

"We did it!" I whispered to him joyfully, a smile stretching across my face. "We didn't suck! It's just like old times!"

Julius chuckled and held my hand, then turned to our "audience" and took a bow with me.

I smiled again and bounded over to the Hosts after the crowd had stopped clapping, but noticed that Kyoya wasn't there anymore. I quickly shrugged it off as the twins both grabbed my shoulders and shook me.

"_Mai, why didn't you tell us you could sing like that!" _they yelled in unison, continuing to shake me.

I regained my balance and rubbed the back of my neck shyly. "I just never thought it was a big deal. That's all."

"That was quite the show, Mai-kun." Haruhi said, smiling brightly at me. "You should sing more often at the Host Club. It could really bring in a lot of customers."

I laughed and waved a hand in the air. "Jeez, you sound like Kyoya!" I suddenly remembered his absence and looked around. "Speaking of the Shadow King, where is he?"

The twins shrugged their shoulders and gave a short sigh. _"Said he needed to do something and then walked off. We didn't see where he went."_

I made a short "oh" before Julius came up and hugged me from behind, smiling brightly. "So, how did you guys like our song?"

"Loved it." Hikaru said, giving a thumbs up.

"You guys are pretty talented." chimed in Kaoru, copying his twin.

"I have to ask though," Haruhi cut in, giving us a suspicious look. "why did you guys name that as _your song_?"

I laughed nervously and rubbed the back of my neck, trying not to seem too suspicious, which of course failed. It was kind of an awkward song to sing if you didn't know the back story behind it. Julius and I really didn't pay attention to the romance happening in the song, but instead interpreted it in a different way.

"W-Well, uh…" I stuttered, giving a stupid grin much like a child that just got caught with their hand in the cookie jar. "Julius and I…kinda ran away from home once and we were being chased by the police…so…yeah…"

The twins tore me away from Julius and began shaking me again. "_You what?! What the hell were you thinking?! When did this happen?! Why didn't you tell us?!"_

"If you haven't noticed by now, Boo-chan hasn't told you _a lot_ of things." Julius pointed out matter-of-factly.

I glared at him from the corners of my eyes as he crossed his arms and smirked at me. He really wasn't helping this situation right now, and I could just tell that he was doing it on purpose.

I slapped the twin's hands off of me and straightened my jacket.

I continued to brush myself off as I said, "It's not a big deal. Forget I said anything, ok?" I blew a strand of hair away from my eyes and sighed. "I'm gunna go get a cup of tea. Hikaru and Kaoru, not to be the bearer of bad news but I'm pretty damn sure you forgot about the guests that you were tending to."

Hikaru and Kaoru both tensed as a look of shock appeared on their faces. They had completely forgotten about the girls they had been tending to! In almost a second, there was nothing left but dust clouds in the shape of their bodies as they ran back to their table, apologizing quickly to their guests for taking so long.

I chuckled to myself and shook my head as I made my way to the kitchen, shoving my hands into my pockets with a sigh.

'_Idiots.'_

-/-

Kyoya scowled at the empty water glass in front of him, biting his bottom lip to the point where he thought it might bleed. He ran his hands through his hair angrily, trying to rid the discomforting thoughts flowing through his mind.

'_Dammit, why do I feel so angry all of a sudden?'_ Kyoya thought, rubbing his forehead in pain at the headache forming. _'Why did I get so upset when Mai sang that stupid song with…__**him**__?' _He thought the last word bitterly, biting his tongue to suppress a growl. He _hated_ thinking about that blonde _idiot_.

But that's why Kyoya was upset. Just exactly _why_ did he feel so much hate towards the young male? He didn't even know him that well! And he hadn't felt angry at all until Julius had introduced himself as his apprentice's _boyfriend_.

'_Why do I seem to get so upset whenever Mai is around someone else that seems to be flirting with him? It's not my place to get angry. Why do I even care?!'_

Kyoya gripped his hair angrily and threatened to pull it off of his head. '_I've never felt this way before. So many mixed emotions that I cannot express. So much sadness, and worry, and anger. Why have I started reacting this way? I'm the Shadow King! I'm not supposed to have emotions!'_

He narrowed his eyes behind his glasses, staring at his reflection in the glass cup in front of him.

'_Damn Mai, making me feel this way. Why the hell did I only start feeling like this when he showed up?'_

Kyoya sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose. '_I'm so confused. And I've __**never **__been confused before.' _He grit his teeth and looked away from his reflection angrily. '_I just don't understand! What is happening to me?!'_

Kyoya ran his fingers through his hair again and rested his elbows on the counter. He hunched over and sighed in frustration as he listened to the cheering of the guests and other hosts in the other room. He didn't really think he was being rude- he had stayed until the song was over and had clapped for a short while. He just wasn't jumping up and down and fangirling like the rest.

'_I just feel so…jealous.' _he thought angrily, pulling his hair again. '_If there's one thing I know how to feel, it's jealousy. I've felt it towards my brothers for years.' _He took a pause in his thoughts to take in a deep, shaky breath. _'But why is it that I feel so jealous when other boys or girls start to flirt with Mai? Well…he's my apprentice after all. Yes, yes. He's simply my apprentice. That's what it is.'_

Kyoya's eyes narrowed as he thought back to the beach when he had pulled Mai aside after the fight that he had gotten into. He remembered how worried he had been, and how scared he was when the two guys had grabbed his apprentice by the shoulders. Of course he had to yell at Mai after the fight, he was so stupid picking fights with guys so much taller and buffer than him! Kyoya could only imagine what would happen if Mai had gotten hurt. He would have felt so guilty for not being there to tell Mai to not get into trouble. That was his job as a mentor, wasn't it? To be there for his apprentice when he needed it?

Kyoya felt his stomach twist into a knot as he remembered how he had trapped his apprentice on the wall. He was so close to him…

'_No, I was simply trying to intimidate him.'_ Kyoya thought bitterly, biting his lip again.

He remembered how he had held him so close to himself, slinking his arms around the redhead's slender waist.

'_I was just making sure he wouldn't go anywhere.'_

And how he had been so upset when he had discovered the bruise on his apprentice's cheek, staining his flawless face with a deep black sorrow.

'_Any of the hosts would be upset. No one wants to see Mai get hurt.'_

And then how he had brought him even closer to himself, leaning down slowly, brushing the hair from his face. He had tilted his apprentice's head to the side, not like he was thinking of it, it was just instinct. He had leaned in so close to the redhead that he could feel his timid breath on his face. He remembered staring at his lips, wanting to know if they were as soft as they had looked…so he had leaned in more…slowly…timidly…until he almost…

Kyoya slammed his hands on the counter in a rage and made the glass cup in front of him shake in fear. His eyes spun wildly with anger and his stomach twisted into more uncomfortable knots.

'_I wasn't thinking that at the time! I wasn't going to do anything! Nothing!' _he screamed in his mind, clutching his head again angrily. '_I was trying to get a better look at his bruise! Yes, I was simply trying to get a better look at his bruise to try and see how badly he had been injured!'_

Kyoya felt his heart pound as the memory of the beach continued to play in his head, taunting him and mocking him to no end. Why had he felt that way towards Mai? He had never felt that way before towards anyone, and it was pissing him off! Ok, so what if he was denying it when he told himself he was trying to see Mai's bruise? He didn't want to actually admit to himself that he was going to try and…actually…_kiss _his _apprentice_.

'_No, I would never kiss another male, __**ever**__. I'm not gay. Definitely __**not **__gay! __**Especially **__not for Mai!'_

Kyoya swallowed and looked at his reflection in his empty water glass again. '_I'm…not gay…' _He shivered as he remembered trying to kiss his apprentice at the beach. He had wanted to do it so badly. Not a long kiss…just…to see what it felt like.

Kyoya turned and fell back onto the counter as he put his hands on his face in disgust of himself. '_Oh god…I actually tried to __**kiss**__ Mai…Oh my god.' _Kyoya took in a shaky breath and took off his glasses. '_This isn't happening. It was just by instinct, that's all. It's just because he's my apprentice. I mean, that's what apprentice's and mentors do…right?' _He growled in annoyance and rubbed his eyes. '_God, now even my denials are sounding stupid.' _He sat on the floor of the kitchen, rubbing his temples at the massive headache that he had. '_I've been focusing on this for weeks now…and I can't believe that I'm going to think this but…I'm beginning to question my sexuality…for my apprentice…'_

The door to the kitchen opened and Kyoya immediately turned his attention to the intruder of his alone time. His eyes narrowed as the person he had been thinking off appeared before him, blinking at him innocently.

"How come you're sitting on the ground?" Mai asked, cocking his head to the side. It was rare for him to see Kyoya sitting on the floor.

Kyoya's stomach lurched uneasily. Somehow, the young redhead looked simply _adorable _when he was being innocent.

Kyoya looked away from him to prevent any more unsettling thoughts to appear in his mind. "Just felt like it. What are you doing in here?"

"Just came in to get a cup of tea." he replied, walking to the cabinets to grab a cup.

Kyoya refused to look at his apprentice as he made himself a cup of tea, fearing that his mind would go haywire. He already had a piercing headache, and he didn't need more thoughts of Mai making it worse.

"Hey," he heard Mai speak up, and he dared to turn his head slightly to make eye contact with him. He was holding out a cup of tea for him to take and smiled warmly. "Whenever I'm in a bad mood, I always like to have a cup of nice, sweet tea."

Kyoya nodded gratefully and took the cup. "Thank you." He looked away again and took a small sip, his lips twitching at the taste of it. When Mai said sweet, he meant _sweet_.

Kyoya continued to sip his tea, but stopped as Mai suddenly put his hand on his shoulder comfortingly, smiling at him reassuringly as he said, "Y'know, I may not always know why you're in a bad mood, but it wouldn't hurt to talk about it sometimes. I'm your apprentice, so you can tell me about whatever's bothering you if you feel like it."

Kyoya nodded again and averted his eye gaze, not wanting to look at the person in front of him in fear that he might blush. That was one thing Kyoya hated doing and tried to void at all costs.

Mai chuckled slightly and began to walk out, when he paused at the door to look back at his mentor sitting on the floor.

"…I'll always look out for you, Senpai. You can always tell me about your problems."

Kyoya watched Mai leave with a frown plastered on his face. He ran his hands though his hair again with a heavy sigh, setting his teacup down to wipe his glasses on his jacket.

'_Mai…how can I tell you about the problem, when the problem is __**you**_?'

* * *

**VERY VERY VERY VERYYYYY IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER. IF YOU DON'T READ IT I WILL STARE AT YOU FROM OUTSIDE YOUR WINDOW AND PRETEND TO BE AN OWL!**

**Ok so, I want to make an announcement before I go on with my normal ending disclaimer:  
The next chapter is going to be a cosplay chapter! Hurray! Now, I wasn't sure who Mai should cosplay as, so I figured, why not ask you guys?!**

**The choices are:**

**Meiko from Vocaloid  
Lily from Vocaloid  
Grell from Black Butler  
Etna from Disgaea  
or Black Rock Shooter**

**Don't know any of them? That's alright! I just need you all to do a quick Google search to see which outfit will be the most embarrassing for Mai to cosplay as! Make sure to leave your choice in a review!**

**Alright, now time for my normal disclaimer!**

**So, tomorrow I'm driving up to Stockton California for a karate competition, and I'm pretty nervous. I don't know when I'll be able to update, but I will do my best to update soon!**

**And how did you guys like the little ending with Kyoya? Oh, if only he knew that Mai was a girl! I suppose this will begin to cause problems between them, don't you agree?**

**Well, I want to hear everything you have to say about this chapter in your reviews, so don't forget to post one! And also, don't forget to follow and favorite!**

**See you all in the next chapter, where Mai will be cosplaying as the character of your choice!**

**-Maiya Tsuki Takahashi**


	17. Chapter 17

**FELLOW FANFICTIONERS, LISTEN UP! I NEED YOU ALL TO GO TO AND LOOK UP MY PROFILE (Dark Kisshu) BECAUSE I DREW MAI AND SHE LOOKS ADORIBLE! GO LOOK AT HER! GO LOOK AT HER NOW!**

***Ahem* Anyways, my karate tournament went very well! I placed third in Kata and third in Kumite (sparring/fighting)! Thank you all for wishing me good luck! It really helped!**

**Secondly, thank you all for your lovely reviews! And also, thank you for participating in the cosplay voting! I was very happy to see all of you review on what character Mai should be!**

**So, without further ado, sit back, relax, and enjoy!**

* * *

'_I'm late, I'm late, I'm late! Kyoya is going to murder me!' _I thought as I frantically ran up a flight of stairs, trying desperately to make it to the Host Club as fast as I could. I ran down another hallway, almost bumping into people and occasionally almost tripping over my own feet. I had been running for a while now, and I was _extremely_ tired.

'_Why does this school have to be so damn __**huge**__?!' _I thought, turning a corner to run down _another_ hallway.

I skidded to a stop in front of the Host Club and swung the doors open, dashing inside and praying to God that I wasn't going to get hit with Mr. Ruler for being tardy. I collapsed to my knees and panted heavily, placing my hands on the ground in front of me for support so that I wouldn't fall all the way.

Haruhi saw me run in and immediately rushed to my side in concern. "Mai-kun, what's wrong? Are you ok?"

I didn't bother to look at her but nodded my head, swallowing hard in an attempt to stop my heavy breathing. "I…had to…run home…" I panted out, wiping the sweat off my head with the back of my sleeve. "Had to…pay the rent before…3:00pm or…I'd get kicked out…"

I collapsed on the floor and held my chest, trying desperately to control my breathing. My lungs were stinging and my heart felt like it would burst out of my chest at any moment. And if my legs weren't cold and numb then I'm pretty sure they'd be hurting as well.

Haruhi frowned and brushed a few strands of hair away from my face. "Mai, how far away do you live from the school?"

I cleared my throat because it felt like there was blood running down it and groaned. "Three miles…away. Not that far but…I had to run…really fast and not stop…or I'd be really late for…the Host Club."

Haruhi shook her head and stood up quickly. "Wait here." She rubbed the back of her neck sheepishly and added, "Not like you really have much of a choice."

I nodded and heard her walk away quickly, the clicking of her shoes fading further and further away. I didn't bother to open my eyes at all once I had fallen onto the floor. I knew that the light from the Host Club would just give me an even bigger headache than I already had.

I heard Haruhi come back, but there were two extra pairs of feet that I also heard come back with her.

"Did he really run six miles so that he wouldn't be late?" I heard Hikaru ask curiously, and I felt him poke me on the side.

"What an idiot." Kaoru added, also beginning to poke me. "Kyoya would have understood if you had to pay your rent. You should have just told him that you would be late."

I grumbled at them and tried to shoo away their hands, but to no avail for my arms didn't respond when I tried to move them. "Stop poking me. It hurts."

Hikaru sighed and turned to his twin. "Go get Mai some water while I get him changed into his cosplay."

My brows furrowed in confusion as I heard what Hikaru had told his twin. Whenever we wore outfits for the Host Club we always called them "costumes" not "cosplay", so why had he used that term? Unless…we were actually cosplaying this time?!  
I forced my eyes to flutter open to see the Hosts in front of me. I was a _huge_ anime fan, and cosplaying was one of my dreams! If I was going to be given a chance to cosplay, then I was willing to bypass any pain that I was feeling so that I could finally cosplay like I had always wanted to!

My vision focused on Haruhi, and I almost gasped in shock at what I saw. I was correct! We were cosplaying!

"Haruhi…you're…" I smiled wide and forced myself to sit up. "You're cosplaying…as Maka from…Soul Eater! You look…adorable!" I mentally smacked myself for not being able to say my sentence without gasping for air.

I turned to Hikaru and looked him up and down. "And you're Ingo…from Pokémon! So I'm guessing that Hikaru…is Emmet, right? It would only make sense, I mean, Ingo and Emmet are the…Subway Twins, and you and Kaoru are the Host Club twins!"

Hikaru raised an eyebrow and gave Haruhi a questioning look. He turned back to me after Haruhi shrugged her shoulders and asked, "You're an anime fan?"

I nodded my head and rubbed my chest, seeing as how my heart was still pounding. "Of course!"

Hikaru began to laugh and he covered his mouth with his hand, trying not to be rude. "Oh God, I bet you're the type of people who write fanfiction!"

I crossed my arms and glared up at him, seeing as how I was still sitting on the floor. "What's wrong with people who write fanfiction?" I had finally taken control of my breathing, but my chest was still in pain.

"Nothing, nothing!" Hikaru began to laugh even harder and he waved his hand in the air. "Except for the fact that they're complete dorks!"

"People who write fanfiction are _not_ dorks!" I snapped, glaring at him even more fiercely now. "We're just excitingly creative when it comes to our favorite characters!"

Hikaru cleared his throat to get the rest of his giggles out and he straightened his hat. "Sure, sure. Whatever you say."

Kaoru came back with a large glass of water before I could yell at Hikaru anymore. He handed it to me with a concerned look and watched as I took it gratefully and chugged it down, almost swallowing it whole in under ten seconds.

"Feeling better?" Kaoru asked, taking the glass back from me.

I nodded my head and wiped my mouth with the back of my sleeve. "Yeah, thanks a lot. The water really helped."

I stretched my arms out to Hikaru like a child wanting to be picked up, and he rolled his eyes, grabbing onto my hands and hoisting me up. I stumbled for a moment and held out my hands to regain my balance. Once my legs were sturdy and stopped wobbling, I straightened up and took a step forward, only to have my knee buckle under me and cause me to almost fall flat on my face.

"Are you alright?" Kaoru laughed, catching me before I could fall on the cold tile.

I nodded and chuckled out of embarrassment. "I uh…I can't feel my legs."

The twins both laughed while Haruhi shook her head at my foolishness for running for so long. I really shouldn't be pushing myself so hard when I was so skinny and had barely any muscle.

Hikaru took me from Kaoru and picked me up, causing me to flinch at first because I wasn't expecting it.

"You still need to get changed though." Hikaru said, smiling devilishly at me. "We'll help you."

Haruhi laughed and waved me off as Hikaru and Kaoru dragged me to the dressing room against my will, smirks dancing across their devilish faces as I yelled in protest. Once inside, Hikaru set me down on a chair and shuffled through a few outfits to find mine, leaving me to grumble to myself in annoyance at the fact that I wasn't able to run away like I wanted to. Once he found my cosplay he held it out to me with a grin and said, "Do you recognize this outfit?"

My face lit up and I clasped my hands together in excitement, my eyes sparkling as I exclaimed, "It's Grell's outfit, from Black Butler!"

"Jeez, you really _are _a nerd." Kaoru laughed, tossing the pants at me.

I rolled my eyes and slipped off my uniform pants to put on my cosplay ones. I really didn't mind changing in front of people. I mean, wearing underwear was just like wearing a bikini, right? It really didn't make a difference to me. "I'm not a nerd. I just like anime and manga and fanfiction."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Hikaru rolled his eyes, taking my uniform pants and hanging them up on a hanger.

I sighed and pushed off of the chair so that I could stand, and I leaned on the wall for support so that I wouldn't fall over. I was semi-glad that my legs didn't hurt just yet, but I was a bit pissed off at the fact that I couldn't feel them at all. I slipped off my shirt and gave it to Hikaru to hang up, now actually being thankful for the fact that the twins where here to help me. Without them here to help, I think I might have just died. (Ok, maybe that was a bit of an over exaggeration, but still.) I put on the rest of my outfit, sometimes hanging on to Kaoru so I wouldn't fall, and once I was done I looked myself over in the mirror, quite pleased. I wasn't wearing the wig (mostly because I didn't want to), but it still looked pretty decent!

I stood in front of the mirror and began tying the little bow thing around my neck, trying my best to not have to lean on one of the twins for support. "So, who are all of the others cosplaying as? I didn't get a chance to look around."

Kaoru stood next to me, just in case my knees decided to give out again. "Mori-senpai is cosplaying as Hatsu Haru from Fruits Basket."

"And Honey-senpai is cosplaying as Momiji from Fruits Basket." Hikaru added, straightening his outfit in front of the second mirror. "We wanted them to match."

Kaoru nodded. "Right." He turned back to me and tied my bow for me, seeing as how I was having trouble with it. "Tamaki is cosplaying as France from Hetalia, and Kyoya…" Kaoru grinned and leaned in close to me, as if the Shadow King could hear him and he needed to speak quietly. "He's cosplaying as Sebastian!"

My eyes grew wide and my mouth fell open in shock. "H-He's _what_?!"

The twins laughed and gave each other a victorious high five. "_We picked out the cosplay! And, the best part is," _they both turned to me with devilish grins that sent chills up my spine. "_Kyoya doesn't know who you're cosplaying as, because we got yours late! It's a surprise for him!"_

My legs found the motivation that they needed to start moving again and I backed up slowly, waving my hands timidly and giving a nervous laugh. "O-On second thought guys, I think I should just go home for the day and rest my legs, y'know? Y-You wouldn't want me just moping around because of my legs a-and not entertaining my guests, right?"

The twin's eyes lit up deviously and their grins became even wider. "_Nice try, but no." _ They both grabbed me by the shoulders and flung me outside, causing me to stumble and almost fall on my face.

I regained my balance and let go of the breath that I didn't know I was holding, and I rubbed my legs in pain. They were starting to regain feeling now, and I won't lie, it hurt pretty damn bad.

I sighed and pushed a strand of hair out of my face, turning around so that I could walk to my couch and wait for my guests to arrive. As I turned around though, I bumped into something, or _someone_, and almost fell again for what seemed to be the hundredth time today.

I held onto a table so that I wouldn't fall over and opened my eyes, looking up at who I had bumped into. My heart immediately sank at my bad luck and I almost jumped out of my skin.

"I see the twins decided to make our cosplay match." the Shadow King said as he looked me up and down, then clicked his pen to write something down in his black book. "How amusing."

I rolled my eyes at the sarcasm in his voice and looked him up and down as well. Now that I got a good look at him, I couldn't help but notice how well the cosplay fit him. His outfit was nice and detailed, probably expensive, and followed his every muscle curve perfectly. I noticed that he wasn't wearing a wig either, but he had just gelled his hair to match Sebastian's.

He noticed me staring at him and turned to me with an un-amused face. "What are you staring at?"

I felt my stomach twist into an uncomfortable knot as I noticed how amazing his eyes looked without his glasses on. They sparkled and stared at me calmly, something I had never seen before from Kyoya because his eyes were always hidden behind his glasses evil gleam.

I felt myself begin to blush and I looked away quickly, the knot in my stomach beginning to twist even more. "N-Nothing. I-It's nothing."

He shrugged it off with a sigh and went back to writing. "Your guests will be arriving in about ten minutes. I suggest you wait for them at your couch."

I nodded, still refusing to look at him, and muttered, "Alright." I gulped and began taking shaky steps past Kyoya, only to have him notice how weirdly I seemed to be walking.

"What's wrong with your legs?" he asked, not really seeming to care, but instead just wanting something to torture me about.

I glanced back at him and smiled nervously. "What do you mean?"

He huffed out of annoyance and pointed at my legs with his pen nonchalantly. "You're walking strangely." he stated matter-of-factly. "I also saw Hikaru carrying you to the dressing room. So, I'll ask again, what's wrong with your legs?"

I gulped and waved my hand in the air, trying to shoo him away. "Nothing's wrong! Hikaru just carried me because he felt like it!"

Kyoya closed his book and walked over to me slowly. "If that's true, then why are you walking strangely?"

I looked up at him and chuckled nervously, backing up a few steps to lean against a table so that my legs stopped shaking in pain. "I don't know what you mean. My legs are perfectly fine."

Kyoya glared at me and took a step closer. "What did you do?"

I laughed innocently and shrugged my shoulders. "Just…y'know…sprinted six miles, three miles being up hill, and then up three flights of stairs. Nothing _too_ bad."

Kyoya's eyebrow twitched in annoyance and he crossed his arms. "Let me as another question. _Why_ did you think that was a smart thing to do?"

"I didn't really think it was smart." I replied, looking at the floor to escape from his glare. "I had to run home to do something before 3:00pm. My bike broke a few days ago and I haven't had time to fix it, so I had to sprint so that I wouldn't be late to the Host Club." I frowned and ran my hand through my hair and closed my eyes. "It won't affect the way I talk to my guests though, I promise. You have nothing to worry about."

Before I could even open my eyes, I felt my feet leave the ground and I gasped in shock, almost screaming before I noticed what was happening. I opened my eyes and saw Kyoya staring down at me, his famous un-amused look plastered on his flawless face.

"I have you to worry about." he huffed in annoyance at my stupidity for hurting myself. "If your physical health starts to deteriorate, it will affect the Host Club's profits, and I can't have _that_ happening."

I clutched onto his shirt nervously as he began carrying me to the couch across the room. This was the first time Kyoya had ever picked me up bridal style, and to tell you the truth, it was a bit scary. I would never imagine Kyoya to be the type to pick anyone up this way.

I looked up at him again and sighed. '_All you ever think about is profit, huh?'_

I noticed his eyes again and felt myself being drawn to them, unable to look away. I knew that I was beginning to blush again, but there was just something about them that I couldn't look away from...  
They were so dark, yet light at the same time. They sparkled with calmness, yet held a certain intensity to them that reminded me of when he would be working on a project or something difficult. And just the fact that Kyoya wasn't hiding behind the gleam of his glasses was just amazing to me. It was like I was staring at a whole different Kyoya! One with much, _much_ prettier eyes, and a calmer personality.

"You're staring at me again." he said, pulling me away from my thoughts.

I looked away embarrassedly and held my breath. "S-Sorry, I-I didn't mean to. I-I just got lost in my thoughts."

Kyoya made a short 'hn' noise and stopped as he reached my couch, noticing that my three guests were already here.

"Nice way of transportation, Mai." my friend, and also one of my regulars, Kia, said with a smirk.

I laughed nervously as Kyoya set me down gently, making sure not to hurt my legs. He placed a hand on my shoulder to make sure I wouldn't fall as I greeted my guests, to which I was thankful for. I was pretty sure that I couldn't stand on my own just yet without leaning on anything for support.

"Mai, you look so friken _adorable_!" Lacey beamed, noticing my cosplay. She had also become one of my many regular guests, and always visited in the group of friends that she was in currently.

"I agree, you do look nice, Mai." my other friend and regular, Scarlett, said. Scarlett was a commoner like me, but instead got into Ouran due to a scholarship. She also preferred to be called "Lett", seeing as how it was more tomboyish.

I rubbed the back of my neck sheepishly with an embarrassed grin. "Thanks guys."

Lacey turned her attention towards Kyoya and her face froze in shock, causing both me and my mentor to stare at her in confusion. Why had she suddenly become so amazed by Kyoya's presence?

"M-Mai is cosplaying as Grell…a-and K-Kyoya is c-cosplaying as Sebastian!" she stuttered out, her face turning crimson red as he wriggled in her seat out of pure excitement. "That's one of my main OTP's! I ship it! I ship it so hard!" **(A/N: OTP stands for **_**One True Couple.**_**)**

"L-Lacey…" I stuttered embarrassedly, my face growing a light shade of red. Now it was clear to my why the twins had chosen Grell for me to cosplay as.

"I didn't want to say anything first, but that is a great couple." Scarlett added, sipping her tea. "You two do a great job at couple-cosplaying."

"L-Lett, w-we aren't couple-cosplaying." I muttered, noticing Kyoya's growing anger. If I looked close enough, I swear I could have seen a purple aura coming off of him.

"You two should, though." Kia cut in, smiling innocently. "GrellxSebastian is a wonderful couple. I'm sure a lot of your guests would love to see you do a couple act with Kyoya while still dressed in that cosplay."

"I'm sure a lot of the guests would just love to see them do a couple act, even without cosplay." Lacey mumbled into her hand, smiling devilishly. "Haven't you noticed that a lot of girls have been talking about that couple lately?"

"They have?" Scarlett asked, raising a brow. She hadn't heard anything about KyoyaxMai floating around.

Kia nodded and sipped her tea, as if this topic was completely comfortable to talk about in front of the two people they were shipping together. "It's a very popular couple that Mai fangirls have recently started talking about. Not that we're fangirls of Mai, of course. We're all just here because he can't hang out with us anymore."

Lacey nodded and sighed happily. "Y'know what, I think that's an adorable couple." She hit her palm with her fist and gave an intense look. "It's now official! KyoyaxMai is now one of my OTP's!"

"I would really feel more comfortable if we got off of this topic!" I cut in, noticing now that Kyoya was clenching his fists behind his back to try and keep his anger away. He still had his same bored expression on his face, but I could tell that he was going to snap, and he was going to snap soon.

"Hey Mai, do you think you can do a tiny act with Kyoya for us?" Kia asked, placing her hands on her chin. "Y'know, like what the twins do? Only with Kyoya?"

My face darkened to a deep red as I was caught off guard by my friend. I never imagined that Kiaa would be the one to ask that question!

"Wh-Wha-, n-"

"I think that's an amazing idea!" Lacey chirped, pink flowers appearing near her face, much like Honey-senpai. She smiled joyfully and leaned in closer, now becoming completely entranced in the conversation. "You'll do it for us, won't you?"

I swallowed hard as the knot in my stomach returned. "G-Guys, I-I'm n-"

"We could pay you and the Host Club." Kia suggested, almost as if it were no big deal. She was rich, after all.

Kyoya's eyebrow perked at the mention of money, but he kept his mouth shut. He wanted to wait and see how this would all play out before he did anything.

"You can't just persuade me with money because I'm a commoner!" I screeched, hiding my red face with my baggy sleeves.

"But Mai, didn't you mention that you needed food money this week?" Kia asked innocently, hitting my weak spot. It was true that I needed food money and I hadn't eaten in a good two days, but there was still no way that I was going to do an "act" with Kyoya! I would rather starve!

I shook my head and continued to cover my face so that they wouldn't know that I was blushing. "I-I have some food at home, and I can always just eat a slice of cake from the Host Club! I-I can skip on food money this week!"

"We'll pay double or reservation money for a whole month." Lacey cut in, knowing that Kyoya just couldn't possibly resist the mention of extra profit for the Host Club. I growled in annoyance at her as he simply giggled happily. Really, for someone so cheery all the time, she was more evil than expected.

"Y-You guys…"

Suddenly, I felt a pair of hands holding my wrists, and I uncovered my face shyly, only to notice that I was looking into the eyes of my mentor.

'_Again with his eyes…'_ I groaned in my mind, hating how the world just loved to torture me. Really, why did I have to find his eyes so…entrancing?

"Just get it over with." Kyoya mumbled, only loud enough for me to hear as he leaned in closer to me. "If they're willing to pay double the expenses to reserve you, then the Host Club is going to bring in way more profit this month. Right now we owe the principal a bit of money, so we need the extra cash. Just do it."

I held my breath and shook my head, wanting to get out of this situation as quickly as possible.

"N-No, I-I c-can't."

"I'll pay _triple_ my reservation money." Kia said slyly, bringing out her wallet and waving it in the air with a smirk.

I glared at her from the corners of my eyes in an embarrassed anger. '_You traitor!'_

I looked back at Kyoya who was glaring at me for refusing the money that the Host Club needed. I gulped and closed my eyes in fear, knowing that I would hate doing this, but that I should. I mean, if the Host Club needed the money to give to the principal, then who was I to stop them from getting it? Not to mention that I would also get some food money for the week, which I desperately needed because I spent it all on rent.

I put my hand to my stomach as it growled, and I took a deep breath. It was only a small act, right? The twins did it all the time, so really, how hard could it be?

I opened my eyes to find Kyoya still glaring at me, and my friends were all watching us intently.

I looked down shyly and held my breath. '_Just a quick act, and then you get food money. You can do this.' _I looked back up at Kyoya and blushed a crimson red, completely baffled by the fact that I was going to play along.

I looked back up at Kyoya shyly, then ran a hand down my arm, brushing the sleeve of my red coat down teasingly as I muttered, "I'll play along, but you have to promise to be gentle, Sebas-chan."

Lacey squealed and held onto Scarlett's arm as they continued to watch intently.

Kyoya smirked, but quickly hid it, knowing that he had to stay in character. Although it might seem like it, he didn't really want to do this anymore than I did, but like me, he also needed the money. And if Mai's crazy friends were willing to pay extra money just to watch this one skit, then hell, he'd just suck it up and pretend like this was fun.

"I assure you, I'll be gentle." Kyoya murmured, slinking an arm around my waist and pulling me closer towards him.

I blushed at the contact, but quickly regained myself, continuing to play along. I turned my head away in embarrassment and placed my hand on my cheek. "S-Sebas-chan, people are watching us. W-We shouldn't do this here."

Kyoya gave a low chuckle and held my chin with his thumb, turning my head around to look at him. "What, so now that I finally hold you like this, you become shy and don't want my attention? That's so out of character for you, Grell-chan."

I gulped as he cupped my cheek with his hand and stared at me intensely. I could tell by the emotions in his eyes that he was just as uncomfortable as I was right now, but he was just doing a way better job at hiding it than I was.

Kyoya leaned in closer to me and ran his fingers through my hair, stopping his hand at the back of my head and keeping it there. "You're mine, do you know that?"

My eyes widened and my heart sped up as he spoke. I began to shake lightly as the déjà vu of the beach hit me like a rock to the head. Was he doing this on purpose? No, he couldn't be. He probably didn't even remember the whole beach scene. Why would he? It's not like it really held an interest to him.

I quickly shook my thoughts aside and began playing with his tie, looking up at him with a cute expression. "Sebas-chan, I-I'm sorry for being so shy. C-Can you ever forgive me?"

Kyoya took his opportunity to put an end to the act and he tilted my face to the side, leaning in closely and whispering, "I forgive you." He began to lean in even closer to me and I held my breath in fear as I felt my heart begin to pound again. I closed my eyes, not knowing what he was planning but definitely _not_ liking how close he was getting, and I let go of his tie and put my hand on his chest, pushing him back lightly.

'_This really _is_ like the beach._' I thought as I felt his breath against my face again. He was getting closer…and closer…and closer, until-

"Nee, Kyoya-senpai!" Hikaru called from the kitchen, opening the door just in time for Kyoya to lean away from me, pretending like nothing had happened. "We need your help in the kitchen really quickly!"

Kyoya was hesitant for a moment before he nodded and looked back at my friends who were all sitting there, mouths agape.

"If you do not pay as much money as expected, you will face consequences." he said blankly, giving them a stern look. "I will never do that again, so don't ask."

Kyoya let go of me and walked away, and right as I didn't have his hand around me to support my balance I began to stumble.

"W-Wait, Kyoya! M-My legs are still-" I fell forward onto the ground with a loud _thud_ and groaned, hitting my forehead on the tile in aggravation.

'_God, why does life hate me?'_ I thought in annoyance as I continued to lie on the ground in pain. I sighed and propped myself up onto my elbows, blowing a strand of hair out of my face.

I tapped my fingers on the tile of the Host Club with an annoyed roll of my eyes as my friends laughed and my food money for the week was tossed my way, just like they had promised.

-/-

I sighed as I began to undress myself, unbuttoning my shirt slowly and hanging it on the hanger with care. I looked at the mirror and sighed, running my hand through my tangled hair.

"I need to find a better way to pay off this damn debt of mine." I groaned, kicking off my shoes. "Maybe I can get a loan or two from my old gang resources..."

"Hey Mai, are you decent?" I heard Hikaru ask from the other side of the curtain, pulling me out of my thoughts.

I sighed again and rubbed my legs. They had regained feeling now, but they hurt like hell.

"Yeah, I'm decent."

The twins marched into the room with smirks on their faces, and Hikaru was hiding something behind his back.

I raised my eyebrow and crossed my arms.

"Why do you want to talk to me _now_ of all times?"

Hikaru handed me what was behind his back and suppressed a laugh, snickering as he said, "Our mom made an extra cosplay and she needed to know how it fit. You're the only one small enough to fit in it, so we need you to try it on."

I raised my eyebrow and unfolded the cosplay, my mouth falling open and my eyebrow twitching with annoyance as I realized what it was. I held it up shakily, inspecting what little pieces I was holding in my hands. It was a red leather tube top that had a zipper in the front, unzipped about half way down to show as much as it possibly could without being opened fully way. To match it was a red leather mini skirt, way above my fingertip length. (Or really even wrist length for that matter.) I grit my teeth in anger as I realized who the twins were trying to get me to cosplay as. It was Meiko, from Vocaloid!

I threw it at Hikaru angrily and snapped, "There's no way in hell I'm wearing that! I'd rather die!"

"Aw, don't be that way!" Kaoru chirped, holding the top up to me to see how it would fit. "I think you would look cute in it."

"Yeah!" Hikaru agreed, holding out the skirt that went with it. "With your thin figure and skinny legs, it would look perfect on you!"

My eyebrow twitched in annoyance and I grit my teeth. "You do realize that Meiko has double D's, and I could probably be classified as a negative A?"

"Oh c'mon, it doesn't have to be perfect!" Kaoru smiled, grabbing hold of my shoulders. "We just have to test it out on someone really quickly! C'mon, please?"

"Why don't you just make Haruhi try it on?" I suggested. Haruhi was my friend and I hated seeing her tortured, but I think I had been out through enough today. "She's shorter than I am."

"Haruhi already left." Hikaru complained, stepping closer to me. "And she's only like, two inches shorter than you! C'mon, just try it on for a second."

I sighed and rolled my eyes, knowing that there really was no way out of this one, no matter how hard I tried. I looked at Kaoru, who was giving me an innocent smile, then looked back at Hikaru, who had the same exact face as his twin.

I groaned and rubbed my head in discomfort. I had been through a lot of shit today, so was this really _that bad_? I sighed and crossed my arms. "Fine, but only for a second. And no pictures!"

The twins clapped their hands together joyfully and chirped, "_No pictures! We promise!_"

I groaned to myself and took the top from Hikaru. I really couldn't believe that I was going to do this.

"Wait, we have to change something." Kaoru stopped me suddenly, pointing at my bandages. "The bandages are much longer than the top, so it will look weird. We have to make the bandages shorter."

I gulped nervously and looked in the mirror, contemplating on whether I should do as told or not. I sighed and nodded slowly, beginning to unravel the bandages towards the bottom of my rib cage carefully. I tore off whatever I didn't need (I still had my chest taped back, of course. Except now it just covered what I needed to.) and I tucked the loose strand under the other ones to secure it.

I turned to the twins with an embarrassed frown. "Like that?"

The twins stared at me in shock, now knowing why I used as many bandages as I did. Without my bandages wrapped down to my ribcage, the end of a scar was easily seen, and it scared the twins immensely. The twins followed the diagonal scar with their eyes, noticing how it spread from the girl's right shoulder to the bottom of her left rib. When Mai had said that she had a scar that she didn't like showing, they never imagine it to be this huge! What could have possibly made a scar like that in the first place?!

I blushed as they stared at me completely awestruck, not knowing exactly why they had that look on their faces. "W-What's wrong?"

The twins noticed that they were staring and quickly shook it off, putting on the fake gentleman smile that they knew how to do just a little too well.

"_Nothing!_" they said in unison, waving their hands in the air. "_Now, let's get you into the cosplay_!"

-/-

"You_ assholes_!" I screamed furiously as the twins bolted out of the dressing room, my uniform in hand.

I ran out after them, still in the embarrassing cosplay, and chased the twins around the room, trying desperately to get my clothes back. I knew I could catch them, but I was in a leather mini skirt and my legs hurt like hell, so I was in a bit of a disadvantage at the moment. Oh yeah, and not to mention that I was wearing heels.

The twins split up, causing me to stop, not sure which twin to chase after. Hikaru had my shirt and jacket, but Kaoru had my pants. All three things I desperately needed, but I wasn't sure which one to go for first.  
I took off one of my heels and chucked it at Kaoru, hitting him right in the head. What can I say? I had good aim.

"Give me my frucking clothes back, you bastards!" I screeched, taking off my other heel to throw at Hikaru.

"What's with all the noise out here?" I heard suddenly as the kitchen door opened.  
I turned around slowly, my eyes widening as I saw the Shadow King staring at me with a horror struck face.

Well...this was embarrassing.

"Mai...What is going on?" he asked coolly, regaining his nonchalant façade. (I could still tell that he was shocked though.)

I gulped and began to blush furiously, crossing my arms at my side so that he couldn't see the edge of my scar.

"I-I...T-This is really hard to explain."

Kyoya's breath was caught in his throat as he stared at his apprentice with calm, yet shocked eyes. He just couldn't believe what he was seeing! His apprentice was in a leather tube top and mini skirt, blushing furiously as he tried desperately to pull down the skirt as much as he could to cover himself.

Kyoya felt his heart speed up as the redhead looked up at him with wide, pleading eyes. At that moment, he looked so helpless and fragile, like the person he knew he wasn't. To say the least, Kyoya thought he looked simply _adorable_, and he couldn't help but feel his cheeks start to become warm.

Kyoya looked away quickly so that he wouldn't be caught blushing and he rubbed the bridge of his nose where his glasses were. He slid his blue jacket off slowly, daring to look at his apprentice as he draped it over his shoulders gently.

"Don't show so much skin." he said blankly, buttoning one of the buttons closed.

I nodded shakily and slipped my arms through the arm holes of the jacket. I pulled on the edges of it timidly and looked up Kyoya, still embarrassed beyond belief. "T-Thank you..."

Kyoya nodded and looked me over again, now noticing that he had somehow made it worse. Mai wasn't showing as much skin now, but the jacket was way too big for him and covered the whole outfit completely, making him look like one of those girls who wear their boyfriend's shirts without any pants on to look cute.

Kyoya swallowed hard and avoided eye contact again; now turning to the twins and making his glasses gleam evilly. "Give Mai his clothes back and stop fooling around. If you two accidentally break something, we're going to owe the principal even _more _money."

"_Aw, c'mon, let us have a little fun_." the twins complained, slinking their arms around my shoulders like nothing was wrong.

Kyoya pushed up his glasses and have them a look to know that he wasn't kidding. "Clothes. Now."

The twins sighed and did as told, giving me a fake stern look. "_Look what you did. You got us in trouble with Mommy Kyoya again!"_

I rolled my eyes and snatched my clothes from them angrily. "Don't blame this on me. It's your own damn faults."

I walked back to the dressing room quickly, not wanting to be in this outfit for a second longer.  
Kyoya watched his apprentice walk away and he sighed, his heart finally returning to its normal beat again. He was glad that that mess was over.

Kyoya pushed up his glasses again and was about to walk back in the kitchen when the twins both stopped him by placing their hands on his shoulders.

He looked back at them, annoyed, and raised an eyebrow. "What can I help you with?"

Hikaru released his friend timidly and wrung his wrists, giving Kaoru a nervous look of contemplation, like he wanted confirmation for something. Kaoru hesitated for a moment before nodding slowly at Hikaru, giving him permission to say what was on his mind.

Hikaru took a deep breath and looked at Kyoya with worried eyes. "We...need to tell you something about Mai."

Kyoya's eyes sparked with anticipation for a moment before he hid it by the gleam of his glasses.

"Make it fast. I'm very busy."

Hikaru swallowed hard and put a hand on his chest. "It's...about his scar."

Kyoya suddenly became even more interested. "What about it?"

Kaoru jumped in for his twin, not wanting to be excluded in the conversation. "We didn't see all of it...but..."

"It goes all the way from his right shoulder to the bottom of his left rib." Hikaru finished, speaking quietly so that their friend couldn't hear them.

Kyoya's eyes widened at the new source of information, and his fingers twitched for his pen and black book. "What could have possibly given him a scar that large?" he asked, eying the two suspiciously.

The twins both shrugged simultaneously and shook their heads. "We don't know." They both sighed and looked up at Kyoya with hopeful eyes. "We were wondering if you could try to figure it out for us."

Kyoya nodded and pushed up his glasses, looking towards the dressing room with challenging eyes. He had wanted to know about Mai's scar ever since he heard about it at the beach, but he had never had the time to interrogate his apprentice.

Kyoya turned back to the twins, his lips formed into a small, confident smile. "Trust me, I plan to figure it out, and I plan to figure it out soon."

* * *

**IF YOU DIDN'T READ THE FIRST DISCLAIMER, THEN I NEED YOU TO READ THIS ONEEEE!**

**Ok, so I just want to let you all know that I drew Mai and posted it on Deviantart! Go check it out! Go check it out nooowwww! (My Deviantart profile name is Dark Kisshu.)**

**Now, for the normal disclaimer.**

**I hope you all liked this chapter, and I hope I posted it fast enough for all of you! I've been writing nonstop every possible chance I get, but I'm not sure when I'll be able to post the next chapter because I'm going to be super busy for a long while.**

**Thank you all again for participating in the cosplay voting!**

**And don't forget to follow, favorite, and review! (Also, follow me on Deivantart, because I will be posting more pictures of Mai!)**

**See you all next time!**

**-Maiya Tsuki Takahashi**


	18. Chapter 18

**Hello hello fellow fanfictioners! First of all, I want to say that I'm sorry if you couldn't find my DA account. I forgot to mention that my name was one word and looked like this: DarkKisshu.  
I'm sorrrryyyyyy :'(  
(And if you still can't find it, just look up "Mai Takahashi", and for some reason, Fanfic won't let me post the link.)**

**Secondly, I want to thank you all for the lovely reviews! And what's this? I have over 200 reviews now!**

**I noticed that after a hard day at karate, and I started jumping around and fangirling and my sensei looked at me weird…  
But oh well! OVER 200 REVIEWS!**

**I love you all. I really, really do.**

**So you know what? I'm going to post a special chapter for you all. I was planning on posting this chapter later, but because you all are so friken awesome, I decided to post it now. See what happens when you all review?**

**Well, nothing more to say except for sit back, relax, and enjoy!**

* * *

**(A/N: This chapter starts with a flashback.)**

_I sighed and pulled the blankets over my eleven year old head, letting the sorrow of my loneliness sink in and play with my heart like an evil puppet master. I listened to the pitter patter of the rain hitting the window of my room as I wondered when Mother or Father would be home._

_Brother Koji had only died two months ago, but I knew that life would never be the same. Mother and Father always fought now, and they sometimes forgot I was even here. It's alright, I guess. Brother Koji was always the better child anyways._

_I curled into a small ball under my covers, hugging my knees close to my chest._

'I hope Mother comes home soon_.' I thought, biting my lip. '_Life is so lonely without Koji here_…'_

_I heard a muffled knock at the door and I popped my head out from under the covers, wondering who it could possibly be._

'Maybe Mother locked herself out again.' _I thought, running from my room to the front door._

_I stood on my tiptoes and looked through the peephole, my eyes widening at who I saw. It was a tall man with straight black hair pulled into a thick ponytail, flicking his cigarette off to the side of the porch as he looked around cautiously._

_I hesitated for a moment before opening the door slowly, looking up at the man in front of me with nervous, yet cold eyes. I had never seen this man face to face, but I had seen enough pictures of him to recognize him right away. He _was_ my father's rival, after all._

"_Mr. Yuuji?" I asked cautiously, still confused. "What are you doing here?"_

_Mr. Yuuji gave a kind smile and placed his hands in his suit pocket. "I was wondering if your father was home."_

_I shook my head and hung onto the door cautiously, a bit nervous about speaking to my father's rival. I didn't know what, but something just seemed…off….about him._

"_Mother and Father are not home. I can tell them that you came, if you want."_

"_Oh, no, no." He said with a wave of his hand. "That's alright. No need to mention that I was here." Mr. Yuuji's smile faltered for a moment before he quickly regained his fake façade, but that was all I needed to see to know that something was wrong._

_I backed up a step and grabbed the doorknob with a shaking hand. "W-Well, if that's all that you need, I-I'll be going now." I closed the door, but looked down timidly as I noticed that he had stopped it with his foot._

_I back up in fear as he opened the door again and stepped inside, his kind smile never faltering from his face._

"_Actually, there is one more thing that I would like to discuss."_

_I gulped and watched him with a cautious eye, knowing now that something bad was going to happen. I looked around the room for my phone, but remembered that I had regretfully left it in my room._

_Mr. Yuuji took a step closer to me and held out his hand. "I heard that your brother passed away." he said sweetly, giving me a fake look of sympathy. "That's so sad. I'm very sorry for your loss."_

_I nodded, wanting to get this conversation over with as fast as I could. I could already hear my heart pounding in my ears._

"_I'm guessing Father told you about Brother's death." I whispered, narrowing my eyes. Why would Father ever trust Yuuji with such information?_

_Mr. Yuuji let out a short, low chuckle, and his smile dropped to a frown. He looked at me with cold eyes and took a step closer to me, grabbing my wrist with his big hand._

_I gasped in shock and tried to pry away, but he was so much stronger than I was. "M-Mr. Yuuji…"_

_Mr. Yuuji's frown cracked into an insane smile and he produced a long knife from his suit pocket, causing my eyes to well with tears as I realized what was finally going on._

"_Your father didn't tell me anything about the murder." he spoke coldly. His voice was raspy and he began to laugh again, his brown eyes flashing the insanity that had corrupted his mind._

_I tried desperately to pry my hand away from him, staring at the knife with worried eyes. I had to get away, and I had to get away now! "You killed him, didn't you?! You were the one that killed Brother Koji!"_

"_Is that really a shock to you, little girl?" Yuuji spat angrily, tugging my arm and bringing me close to him. I almost gagged as I smelt the smoke from the cigarette in his breath._

_I breathed heavily, tears beginning to pour down m face as I pleaded, "Don't hurt me! P-Please, Mr. Yuuji! I-I've done nothing!"_

_The black haired man's grin grew wider as his grip on my wrist tightened. "Ah, but your father has!" He narrowed his eyes and mumbled his next sentence. "It's his fault my friend is dead!"_

_Tears continued to roll down my cheeks and I tried desperately to push him away. What he was saying wasn't true at all! I remember Father had been speaking to Mother about it one day when Brother and I were supposed to be sleeping. The two teams (His, and Mr. Yuuji's) had been paired up on a mission together. I didn't have a chance to hear what the mission was about, but I remember hearing about how a bomb had pre-detonated, resulting in the death of one of Mr. Yuuji's teammates._

_Mr. Yuuji blamed my father for that day, because my father was the one who was handling the bomb. But my father had no idea that the bomb would explode early._

"_P-Please, Mr. Yuuji," I begged, dropping to my knees. "It wasn't Father's fault. Please, don't kill me!"_

_The man's eyes flashed with insanity again and he laughed wildly, looking down at the pray that he worked hard to catch. He kneeled down beside me and leaned in close, whispering calmly into my ear, "One down, and one to go."_

_In an instant, he pushed away from me and brought his knife down, slashing me diagonally from the right shoulder to the bottom of my left rib. I cried out in pain and fell to the ground, a pool of blood slowly forming under me. I grasped my wound with a shaky hand, watching as the blood on the ground mixed with my tears. The puddle under me slowly grew as I continued to bleed, staining me with a crimson sorrow._

_My wound was far deeper than I thought it was._

_I heard Mr. Yuuji laugh again, and he pulled my head up from my hair so that I could look him in the eyes for the last time._

_He grinned from ear to ear and caressed my cheek softly with a bloody hand, speaking sweetly as he said. "Two down, and none to go." He threw me on the ground and gave me a harsh kick in the chest before walking away, turning his head back as he spat, "Rot in Hell with your brother."_

_I watched him walk away with my vision blurring, and I reached a hand out in front of me helplessly, as if to try and stop him. The world around me was fading, and it was fading fast. I gave up trying to struggle and placed my head on the ground, tears still streaming down my cheeks as I grasped my chest tighter._

'I'll die alone, just like Brother did.' _I thought painfully, slipping my eyes closed for what would be the last time. '_I guess it's ok...because I wasn't there…to protect him.' _I let my hand fall limply off my chest, landing in the pool of blood beneath me. '_Brother…I'm sorry…I…This is all my fault.' _I felt the world around me fade as my body went numb, the pain in my chest finally ending as I let my lips twitch into a small smile. It felt so nice once the pain went away. '_I deserve to die.'

-/-

"…-ai…Ma-…wake-" I heard softly, slowly bringing me back to reality as the memory in my mind faded away. I groaned and curled into a ball, not wanting to wake up. Really, who would after remembering something like that?

I felt someone shaking me and they spoke in a harsh voice. "Mai, wake up!"

This time I heard it clearly, and I knew I was completely awake. I grumbled and let my eyes flutter open. The light from the Host Club stung for a moment before I sat up and rubbed my eyes tiredly, then stretched and gave a huge yawn.

I glanced around the room and noticed that Kyoya was staring at me, notebook in hand, like normal. What _wasn't _normal, however, was the fact that he dressed as waiter. Looking him up and down, I had to add that he was a very _handsome_ waiter, actually.

I looked around the room and noticed that it was empty, which didn't make any sense. There wasn't a guest or host in sight! Where did everyone go?

Kyoya noticed my confused look and he answered my question for me. "We're holding the Host Club outside today."

I nodded and stood up, running my fingers through my hair. When had I even gotten to the Host Club? The last thing I remembered was walking out of my classroom…

"How did I get here?" I asked suddenly, giving him a confused glance.

Kyoya's glasses sparked and he began scribbling something down in that little book of his. "You don't remember? You walked in, ignored the twins when they tried to tell you to get changed, and then you passed out on the couch." He pushed his glasses up and glared at me. "None of us could wake you up. I've been sitting here for almost seven minutes trying to shake you awake."

I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly and then bowed my apologies. "S-Sorry…I-I don't remember even walking in here." I gave him a fake smile and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "I'm normally not a heavy sleeper but I…" I looked at the floor and rubbed my chest, remembering the images flashing through my mind. I gulped and took in a shaky breath, trying to hide the tears in my eyes. "I was having a very interesting dream and…I guess…I just…"

Kyoya stood up and closed his notebook, cutting me off. He pointed towards the dressing room and sighed. "Never mind that now. Just go get dressed."

I nodded and made my way to the dressing room, sighing and rubbing my eyes tiredly as I gave another yawn. I slipped my uniform off and began changing into my waiter outfit, pausing to look at myself in the mirror when my shirt was off. I traced above the bandages on my chest where my scar was, shivering as the images of Mr. Yuuji's smile danced in my mind. Tears began to well in my eyes again and I quickly wiped them away, knowing that if I started crying now I wouldn't be able to stop.

I slipped my shirt on over my head and began tying a little bow around the collar of my shirt. There was no point in remembering such an awful memory now. I should just be thankful that the neighbors saw Mr. Yuuji leaving and had called the police.

That was the only reason I survived.

I walked out of the dressing room where Kyoya was waiting for me. He was writing in his black book again, biting his bottom lip as he tapped his pencil on his chin, seeming to be deep in thought.

I sat down next to him and glanced over. "What do you even write in that thing?"

Kyoya quickly snapped his book shut and stood up before I could see anything, which seemed a bit suspicious to me. He brushed his fingers through his bangs and turned to me with a sigh. "That is none of your concern." He began walking out of the room and gestured to me to follow him. "Come. The guests are waiting."

I nodded and followed him as instructed, placing my hands behind my back as we walked down a large hallway. I looked out the huge windows of the school with a sigh, taking in the pleasant scenery of the outside campus. The sky was blue and didn't have a cloud in sight. The trees were swaying softly in the breeze as the leaves danced with ease, brushing up against the birds that sang a happy melody. Everything seemed to just _glisten _with joy and absolute perfection, and it made me sick.

My eyes narrowed at the thoughts of everything and everyone around me being happy. I mean, don't get me wrong, I was glad that everyone was happy but…  
Sometimes I just wished that I could have a bit of that happiness too, y'know?

I grumbled to myself and shook my thoughts away, turning away from the window with an annoyed pout. I glared at the back of Kyoya's shirt, my thoughts still buzzing in the back of my head. I bit my lip as my eyes narrowed even more, and I tried desperately to rid myself of my blazing jealousy.

As I stared at Kyoya though, I couldn't help but notice how completely handsome he looked like as a waiter. The black vest he was wearing was tight on him, but it still strangely fit him well. He _was_ skinny after all, so tight things tended to work well on him. The cloth that he had tied around his waist hung loosely, but was still tight enough to where it stayed on. It also swayed when he walked, making it look more like a skirt than anything, but still, it strangely looked nice on him.

I bit my lip and continued to glare at him, deep in thought. "Why do you look good in literally _everything_ you put on?"

Kyoya turned his head to glance back at me with a raised eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

I slapped my hands over my mouth as my face turned a shade of crimson red. My thoughts were becoming vocal again!

"D-Did I-I really just say that o-out loud?!"

Kyoya smirked and pushed up his glasses, then turned away from me to scribble something in his book again. "Yes. Yes you did."

My face grew even redder and my stomach tightened into a knot. I totally thought I had said that in my head!

I sighed and wrung my wrists together timidly, refusing to look at Kyoya anymore. "S-Sorry…"

He chuckled evilly and opened the doors to the outside garden, motioning for me to follow him. "Just hurry up. Your guests have already arrived."

I nodded and walked to my table, pulling on the edge of my sleeve in embarrassment.

Kyoya watched me walk away with a smirk on his face. He walked over to his own table, thankful that he didn't have any guests today, and opened his laptop with a sigh, beginning to type away at the keys without any hesitation. He glanced back up at his apprentice and let a faint smile twitch at his lips, and he fixed the ribbon on the collar of his shirt. Who knew Mai would ever think that about his mentor?

-/-

I gave a fake smile as I waved off my last guest for the day, hoping that she couldn't see through my fake mask as she skipped away. Once my guest was completely out of sight, my gentleman smile slowly retreated into a natural frown and my hand fell on my lap. I sighed and stood up, beginning to clear the table. I walked over to the cart of dirty dishes and carefully placed mine inside, thankful that my last guest had finally left. Whoever said I would get used to hosting lied.

I ran a hand through my bangs and looked around, noticing that all the other hosts still had guests that they were attending to. I took a quick glance at Kyoya. He was writing on his laptop, not paying attention to the world around him, as usual.

_'He's probably working on profits again.'_ I thought silently. _'He never takes a break.'_

I glanced around again, making sure no one was watching, and then sneakily made my way to the rose maze. No one would notice I left, so why not have a little alone time? I didn't really need to be there, so why did it matter if I left for a few minutes? And even if I did need to be there, then I guess I would just get smacked with Mr. Ruler again for ditching. No problem.

I wiped an oncoming year away from my eye and felt my stomach clench, like it always did before I cried. I quickened my pace to where my hiding spot was and took a timid look back, hoping that no one had seen me run in here.

I didn't want to deal with the hosts. I didn't want to be a waiter. I didn't want to get involved with anymore guests. I didn't even want to bug Kyoya for that matter.

I just wanted to be alone.

-/-

_"Nee, Kyoya!"_ the twins chorused, appearing on each side of his shoulder.

The Shadow King closed his laptop and pushed up his glasses, not bothering to look at the twins because he would only be able to look at one with the position they were in.

"What can I help you with?" he asked dully.

The twins both simultaneously shrugged and looked around sheepishly. _"We were just wondering if you let Mai go home early."_

Kyoya raised his eyebrow and stood up so that he could look at the twins. "I didn't allow him to leave."

_"Oh..."_ the twins backed up slowly, smiling guiltily.

"Looks like we just got him in trouble again." Kaoru mumbled.

Hikaru nodded. "Don't we always?"

They both turned around stiffly and tried to walk away, put Kyoya had grabbed them by the back of the collars on their shirts and didn't allow them to escape.

"Tell me where Mai is." he demanded, but it was in his gentleman voice, just in case anyone heard him. He didn't want to sound _too _scary around their guests.

Kaoru trembled and tried desperately to pull away from Kyoya's firm grasp. "We don't know anything, honest!"

"Y-Yeah!" Hikaru stuttered, also trying to escape. "W-We didn't see him run into the rose maze! We don't know where he is, I promise!"

Kyoya paused for a moment before releasing the twins, then pushed up his glasses with an accomplished smirk.

Kaoru turned to Hikaru and hit him in the back of the head. "You baka!"

Hikaru rubbed the back of his head with a pout. "I didn't mean to say that, honestly! It slipped out!"

Kyoya turned on his heel and began walking towards the rose maze. If Mai thought that he could really ditch on club activities, he was wrong, and he was about to get an earful.

"Thank you for the information, Hikaru." And with that said, he disappeared into the rose maze to look for his apprentice, ready to give a lecture about how much trouble he was in.

Hikaru and Kaoru both watched Kyoya leave and slowly turned towards each other once he was out of sight, huge Cheshire Cat grins stretched across their faces.

"That was _too_ easy." commented Hikaru, giving his twin a high-five.

Kaoru nodded. "I can't believe that worked." He looked back to where his friend had disappeared to and chuckled deviously. "Kyoya will find Mai upset and probably crying, and since Mai is Kyoya's apprentice he'll have to try to figure out what's wrong."

Hikaru nodded and picked up where his twin had left off. "Then Mai will say whatever is on her mind, Kyoya will feel sorry, and then, since their alone with no one watching-"

Both twins clasped their hands together and stared up into the sky with dreamy eyes. _"The first kiss!"_

They both laughed devilishly and high-fived again, and Kaoru fist pumped the air in excitement.

"I hope this works!" he exclaimed, clasping his hands together again. "Just think of how much happier those two will be once they have each other!"

"Who cares about that!" Hikaru stated, waving his hand in the air. "Once Kyoya has a girlfriend, he'll be much nicer to us, I can guarantee it!"

"Yeah, especially because _we're_ the ones doing the whole matchmaking thing."

Hikaru nodded and then signaled for his twin to be quiet. He looked around sheepishly, hoping that no one had heard them in their time of triumph.

He looked back at his twin with excitement in his eyes. "Let's hurry up and follow him so we don't miss anything good."

Kaoru nodded in agreement and the pair rushed off to the rose maze where their friends where, hoping that their plan would somehow work one way or another.

-/-

'I swear, if he keeps ditching the Host Club, he's going to be in serious trouble.' Kyoya thought angrily, walking through the rose maze. He had no idea where Mai would be hiding, but he had been searching for a while now, and it was pissing him off.  
Kyoya stopped suddenly as there was a three path split in the road. He looked down each path, only to see that it cut off into a sharp turn so that he couldn't see if it was a dead end or not. Kyoya pushed up his glasses and sighed, crossing his arms.

_'Did Mai honestly have to hide here of all places?'_

He was about to continue walking forward, when he heard a faint voice from his right. He raised an eyebrow and listened closely, trying to make out who it was. It sounded like singing, now that he thought about it.

He turned and began walking down the path on the right, now listening more closely as he began to make out words.

_"But there ain't no where for me to run,  
I've cried one thousand tears, then some.  
Can't take back lies, my life's a shame.  
I'm all alone here in the rain."_

Kyoya quickened his pace as he recognized Mai's voice. He couldn't help but wonder what song he was singing. He wasn't familiar with it at all.

_"Where has the time gone? Tell me it ain't true.  
Where has my joy gone? Oh, it left with you.  
I ain't tellin you to come back, but I hope that you can see,  
That this life isn't worth living unless you're here with me."_

Kyoya stopped as he heard Mai right around the corner. He wanted to hear the rest of the song his apprentice was singing, so he decided to stay where he was so he wouldn't startle him.

_"Remember the time I popped some pills?  
Not one, not two, not three?  
No, I downed that whole damn bottle, cuz you weren't there with me.  
Yeah, my life's been kinda fuzzy, but I guess I can't complain.  
But I'm all alone, yeah all alone out in this freezing rain._

Hey, I'm all alone without you here, but please just do not worry.  
Cuz I'll find a way to see you, and trust me I will hurry.  
If I use a bullet, use some pills, it really doesn't matter,  
I'll see you even if I have to climb up heaven's ladder.  
So just stay there, be good, and, oh, dear brother you will see,  
That this life just ain't worth living if you're not here with me."

Kyoya stayed silent as Mai finished his song. He didn't know what to do, didn't know what to say. Mai's voice was incredibly stunning to him; god knows why he never got a music deal. But it was the lyrics that threw him completely off guard. Had he made those lyrics himself, or was it just a song that he had liked and learned how to sing?

He decided to ignore it and proceed with his original mission. He was going to scold Mai for ditching, but he was also going to get information on his scar, now that they were alone. He turned the corner, catching the redhead's attention easily.

I looked up at Kyoya with wide eyes, beginning to shake slightly. How had he known I was here? Had he heard me singing? My fingers began to twitch nervously and my mouth went dry. I had just wanted to be alone. Why was he here?

"K-Kyoya…" I stuttered, curling into an even tighter ball.

He pushed up his glasses and squatted down to my eye level. "You're ditching club activities. I've already scolded you for this once."

I gulped and looked away, not wanting to look my mentor in the eyes. Really, I didn't even want him to be here at all. Why couldn't he just leave me alone for once? Was that too much to ask?

"S-Sorry…I…I wasn't having a good day…and I wanted to be alone."

Kyoya nodded and sat down because his legs were aching from squatting so low. He sighed and looked away from me, something else seeming to catch his attention.

"I see." He muttered quietly, putting a hand to his head. "Well, I can't help that. We all have bad days." He looked back at me, a glint of anticipation flashing in his eyes.

I looked at him suspiciously, and gulped down some more of my fear. I knew that look. That was the look that he had whenever he was going to push for information about something. "That's not really what you wanted to talk about, is it?"

Kyoya smirked for a second before he hid it with his façade again, like always. "You're smarter than you look, Mai."

I shook my head and looked away timidly. "Just attentive."

Kyoya made a short 'hn' noise and ran his fingers through his bangs. "I was going to ask about your scar."

I felt my heart stop as my blood ran thin and cold. Why now of all times? And why did it have to be Kyoya wanting to know? Seriously, he would just hang it over my head once he found out.

I slowly scooted away a few feet and rubbed my knees nervously, bringing them to my chest. "I…would rather not talk about it."

"You know you have to tell me some time." he grumbled, turning his harsh gaze towards my timid feature. "Why not get it over with?"

"I…" I choked on my words, feeling tears begin to fill my eyes. I shook my head and wiped my eyes with the back of my sleeve. I didn't want to remember such an awful thing. "I just…there are some things that people aren't comfortable talking about."

Kyoya was taken aback as Mai began to cry so easily. Normally when Mai needed to cry, he would leave the area to be alone and he wouldn't do it in front of others. Perhaps this topic bothered him more than everyone thought it did.

Kyoya sighed and decided to drop it. Mai was already in a bad mood. He didn't need him to turn into an emotional wreck. But the question still remained, what had given Mai a scar so large? What had he gotten himself into?

Kyoya watched as I calmed myself down, wiping away the tears in my eyes with pale hands. It was extremely out of character for me to cry in front of others, but I just couldn't stand remembering such an awful day. I mean, come on, I had almost died!

"Sorry…" I muttered, hiccupping a little. Why wouldn't my tears stop?

Kyoya looked away and closed his eyes. Although he would never admit it, it pained him to see Mai so broken and vulnerable. He waited until he heard Mai calm down a bit more before turning towards him again, noticing the red tear streaks down the pale boy's cheeks. He had been crying a lot, it seemed.

"I didn't know this topic was so touchy for you to talk about." Kyoya said dully, not seeming to care. (Though the truth was that he really did. He was just good at hiding things.) "How interesting."

I shrugged my shoulders and placed my chin on my knees, sighing lightly. "I just…don't like remembering that day." I closed my eyes and felt my heart pang with sorrow. "I'm just such a disgusting wreck. I deserve more than just a scar."

"Hey, wait a minute." Kyoya cut in, taken aback. Where had that come from so suddenly? "Why do you think you're disgusting?"

"Because it's true." I grumbled, tightening my grip on my pants. "I'm disgusting, unattractive, stupid, an emotional wreck, and a good for nothing trouble maker who screws up everything one way or another."

Kyoya put his hand to his head. "Mai-"

"Not to mention I'm annoying, weak, cowardly, amazingly horrendous, and overall just a bad person." I cut in, not letting him finish.

Kyoya was even more taken aback now. Why had Mai suddenly gone off on himself like that? Did he really think that all of those things were true? They weren't true at all! Sure, Kyoya was still in the denial faze of things when it came to Mai. There was no way he was gay. He didn't even find Mai cute. Not at all. But that didn't mean that he couldn't recognize a good person when he saw one!

"Mai, you're none of those things." he tried comforting, but he couldn't let his tough mask break. He had already acted so out of character in front of Mai. He couldn't let it keep happening.

I sighed and rolled my eyes in annoyance. "Don't try and tell me lies, Kyoya. I know what I am." I looked at my hands, as if I was looking at a disgusting monster. But really, what was the difference?

Kyoya sighed and turned away again. Why did Mai think so lowly of himself? Couldn't he see how amazing he was? But of course, Kyoya would never admit that.

He rubbed the bridge of his nose as he heard Mai sigh and shuffle around, probably hiding his face in his arms again.

Kyoya looked around cautiously; making sure no one was there besides him and his apprentice. Once he saw that the coast was clear, he picked a rose from the bush next to him, his stomach twisting uncomfortably at the action he was about to do.

Kyoya didn't know _why_ his stomach felt that way of course, but he disregarded it as nothing and continued on with his plan.

He held out the rose to me, catching my attention. I looked at it, confused, and sniffled. "What's this?"

"It's a rose." he retorted blandly.

I rolled my eyes. "I can see that."

Kyoya sighed and pushed up his glasses, then turned his gaze to the side, refusing to make eye contact with me. "A rose is a very delicate flower, yet is seen as harmful, due to its sharp thorns." he started calmly, his stern voice never wavering. "There are some people that do not like the rose because of its outer features. They think that when they touch it, or get too close to it, it will hurt them, so they stay away out of fear." He took in a deep breath and exhaled, closing his eyes. "But there are others who pick away at those thorns, and like the rose for what it is." He began picking off the thorns of the rose he was holding. "Those people can look past the rose's fake harsh nature, and once the thorns are removed…" He picked off the last thorn and handed it back to me, now making eye contact with me as he gave a small, warm smile. "…well, they're the lucky people who can see just how beautiful the rose is. They're the ones who can look past the rose's faults and see just how stunningly amazing it can be."

Kyoya placed the flower in my hand and pushed up his glasses, his heart secretly pounding in his chest.

I was hesitant for a moment before I smiled slightly, holding the rose delicately between my fingers. It was amazing to me how quickly Kyoya could change my mood with simply words.

Kyoya looked away again and ran a hand through his bangs. "I hope that got through to you, because I'm not saying it again."

I nodded and laughed a little, slipping the rose behind my ear. I leaned my head on Kyoya's shoulder and snuggled up next to him, causing him to stiffen and look at me confused.

"What's got you in such a happy mood?" he asked, looking down at me.

I looked up at him with sparkling blue eyes and smiled warmly. "Nothing, really. Just that I have the best mentor in the world."

He was taken aback for a moment as I nestled into his arm again, snuggling even closer to him. He swallowed hard and felt a little pang at his heart as he saw how happy I had become.

"The best mentor in the world, huh?" he asked, and turned away again, looking at the roses of the garden. He smiled lightly as he spotted a violet rose sitting peacefully with a black rose, and he closed his eyes in content at the situation at hand. Times like these really were nice. "That's an interesting thought, in its own way."

* * *

**Ok, so I figured that I needed to hurry up and get this done because guess what, it's Kyoya's holiday! I would like shoutout a Happy Mother's Day to our favorite mommy of the Host Club! Keep up the good work, Kyoya Ootori!**

**Hahaha, anyways, I don't really like how this chapter turned out. Oh well, you can't have every chapter be perfect, right? (Not like any of my chapters are perfect anyways.)**

**But what did you guys think of the chapter? Did you like how I threw in the little color of rose reference?**

**Ugh, this story still needs a lot of work, but you guys seem to like it, so I won't give up!**

**Don't forget to follow, favorite, and review! And thank you again for 200+ reviews! (Oh, and follow me on DA!)**

**-Dark Kisshu**


	19. Chapter 19

**Hello fellow fanfictioners!**

**Ok, so I forgot to do this in the last chapter and my friend was super pissed at me! Thank you to my great friend, Lucio, for helping me with my last chapter. I'm sorry I was in such a rush to post the chapter and forgot to credit you. I owe you one. (Now please stop trying to murder me.)**

**Secondly, I'm so so so sorry that this chapter is really late. School and Karate are big issues right now, and I think I'm getting sick.**

**Anyways, thank you all for the lovely reviews! You guys are awesome. Have I mentioned that I love you?**

**Seriously though, these past few days have been rough on me, so reading nice reviews always makes things better.**

**Well, I'll say this now so I don't forget like last time. Thank you to my two great friends Eibon and Lucio for helping me with this chapter because I've been having writers block.**

**Sit back, relax, and enjoy!**

* * *

I tapped my pencil to my chin, deep in thought as I glared at the words in my notebook angrily. I was trying to write a new song, but it wasn't going very well. I hadn't written a song in a few years, so I was a bit rusty.

"What do we have so far?" Julius asked, crossing his legs as he took a sip of his tea. It was sweet, just how he liked it.

I sighed and rested my head on my hand, dropping the pencil on the table lazily. "Nothing worth using."

Julius hummed in disappointment and slid the notebook to his side of the table so that he could ponder the lyrics for our new song. We had actually gotten a gig at a coffee shop, so we wanted to play a new song just to see if we could get back into our old rhythm. But so far it wasn't going too well.

I sighed again and stood up, figuring that I needed a break from thinking, and fanned my dress out in aggravation. In case you needed to do a double-take on that sentence due to confusion, yes, you read right, I was wearing a _dress_.

Today was Sunday, and I was working at the pastry shop, as usual. What _wasn't _usual, however, was the fact that my boss had forced me to wear a maid dress today, apparently to _bring in more customers. _I rolled my eyes and figured why not, no one important was going to see me today anyways. Don't get me wrong, I still hated wearing the damned thing, but I got paid so whatever.

It wasn't really a girly dress, either. My boss had ordered a special dress for me to _fit my punk look_. (Whatever that meant.)  
It was short, just above fingertip length, and it was black with frayed ends. I had on a red apron that was also frayed, and it was tied tightly around my waist by an off-white cloth, which was tied into a bow at the back. I had on black knee-high combat boots that had a small heel, and I also had put a red and black checkered bow in my hair that had chains hanging off of it.

Oh yeah, and to add to all of that, my boss made me wear red eye shadow and black eyeliner. Whoopdy-friken-doo.

I walked behind the counter and began to wipe it down lazily, having nothing better to do. "Hey, read me back what we've got so far."

Julius hummed again and brought the lyrics closer to his face so he could read them better. (He had forgotten his reading glasses at home today.)

"We've only got some of the chorus done, but here it is:

_The cuts, they hurt me,  
But I won't cry.  
Bleeding slowly,  
But I won't die.  
I've tasted death,  
And I'm only fifteen,  
Can't begin to describe all the shit that I've seen."_

I slumped down on the counter and groaned, feeling the weight of my emotions lay on top of me, not allowing me to move. "That sucks. Why did we even write that?" I waved my hands in the air as I kept my head on the counter. "Erase it, erase it all and erase it now."

Julius shrugged and tossed the notebook on the table. "Hey, don't say _us_, you wrote it. And why erase what we already have?"

I rubbed my eyes tiredly and sighed. "Don't remind me that I wrote that…that _thing." _I gestured to it with a lazy hand. "And erase it because it's _horrible_."

"I kinda like it." the blonde said, polishing off his tea. He set his glass down and wiped his mouth with the back of his sleeve. "Kinda sounds simple, like it wasn't meant to be perfect. Something you need in lyrics."

I made an annoyed sound, (which was kind of just a mixture of a groan and a dying cat noise) and moved lazily to where the cups where. I needed to make myself a cup of coffee before I died of exhaustion. I grabbed my mug that I kept in the pantry and poured some coffee in it, stirring in sugar in cream with a sigh. I checked the clock on the wall as I took a sip and mentally groaned.

"It's almost the after-lunch-rush." I grumbled, beginning to wipe down the counter again.

Julius didn't bother to look up at me from the lyrics on the paper. "After-lunch-rush?"

"Yeah, after lunch people always want sweets, so they come here and order cake and stuff."

Julius made a short 'oh' and picked up his tea glass, forgetting it was empty. He pouted to himself as he realized there was no more and set it back down on the table with a sigh.

"Want another one?" I asked, taking out another cup for him.

Julius shook his head. "Nah, it's ok. I don't have the money."

"I'll pay." I said, filling up the cup with his favorite tea and mixing it the way he liked it. I set it down on the table and took his empty glass, earning a warm smile from him.

"Thanks, Boo-chan."

I nodded and placed his cup in the sink, then tugged on the bow behind me with an annoyed growl. When was the last time I had worn a dress? They were so much more uncomfortable than I had remembered.

"Y'know, you really look cute in that outfit." Julius winked, stirring his tea with his straw.

I rolled my eyes at him. "Yeah well, take a picture, because you'll never see me in it again."

I turned around and began to organize things on the counter, when I heard a faint 'click' from behind me. I whirled around to glare at Julius who was holding his phone with a smirk.

"I didn't mean that literally, idiot!" I growled angrily.

Julius laughed and took another picture, mainly just because he liked to torture me. "But you look so cute!" He took another picture and beamed at his phone. "Oh~ this one's gunna be my new wallpaper!"

"Idiot!" I screeched, throwing my towel at him.

It smacked him in the face and he glared at me as I laughed at him. That's what he gets for messing with me! He clutched it in his hand and threw it back, but he didn't have good aim and it flew to my right, hitting the glass container that held the pastries. I continued to laugh as he crossed his arms with a pout, turning his head away from me.

I picked up the towel, trying to control my fits of laughter, and put it back on the counter where it belonged.

"We gotta work on your aim, boy!" I laughed, leaning on the glass container.

He blew a strand of hair out of his face. "Shut up."

I continued to laugh as he sipped his tea, an annoyed scowl on his face.

My fits of laughter soon stopped though as the first after-lunch customers came in, immediately rushing to the glass container to see all the pastries that were on display.

I ran a hand through my bangs and put on a fake smile, glancing at the clock. It was 2:00pm.

I gulped as I saw a few more people wander in, talking loudly to each other and laughing. A sudden wave of anxiety washed over me as I knew just how crowded this place got at these hours.

The first group wandered over to me so that I could give them their desserts, and another small group of people wandered in as I was taking orders.

Ah, so the after-lunch-rush was beginning.

-/-

"Nee, one slice of chocolate cake!"

"R-Right!" I stuttered, placing it in a box as quickly as I could and sliding it to the counter.

"Two chocolate cones!"

I ran, placing orders in boxes and ringing people up at the cash register as quickly as possible.

"One strawberry bread!"

"Two chocolate chip muffins and one fruit tart!"

"A-Ah, r-right!" I stuttered, rushing around. "S-Sorry sir, what was your order again?"

"Can I get a slice of blueberry cheesecake?"

"Three sugar cookies and an iced mocha, please!"

I continued running. People didn't know how to wait their turn and were constantly just shouting out orders.

"Hey, you're cute!"

I blushed.

"T-Thanks."

A phone number was handed my way. I glanced at it. It was quickly thrown in the trash.

"One cake-pop, please!"

"Can I just get a cup of water?"

"There's no more napkins!"

My mind raced in every possible direction as I rushed to take orders and to try and give people the right one. I hated this time of day, and of course, my boss hadn't made anyone else come in to work to help me, so I was all alone.

I slid another box down to its waiting customer and rang up three others before taking a quick glance at Julius, who was smirking at me as he sipped his tea. He saw me glaring at him and he raised his glass with a mocking laugh.

This was totally karma for throwing a towel at his face.

-/-

I sank down in the chair in front of Julius and groaned, placing my head on the table. The after-lunch-rush was finally over, and I was exhausted beyond belief.

"Man, that was crazy!" Julius laughed, poking my head.

I rolled my eyes and shooed his finger away lazily. "You have no idea."

Julius continued to laugh at me and poked me again, earning a tired growl from me in protest. He chuckled a bit more before turning back to the lyrics, tapping his pencil on his lips as he pondered what to write next.

"I thought I told you to erase that." I mumbled, looking up at him with tired eyes.

He shrugged and jotted something down, although it looked like he just doodled on the paper rather than writing actual words.

"I told you, I kinda like it. I think we can make it work if we touch it up a bit."

I grumbled and rubbed my eyes, then rested my head in my hands. "Whatever you say, but I still think those lyrics are shit."

Julius flicked me and continued doodling on the paper.

I rolled my eyes and looked at the clock on the wall. It was 3:00pm. I only had one more hour until I could go home and sleep.

My tiredness sunk into me as I heard the bell on top of the door chime its annoying chime, signaling that I had another customer. I sighed and rubbed my face, then ran my hands through my messy hair and put on a fake maid smile. I stood up and fanned out my dress, then turned around and smiled at my customers brightly, fake sparkles seeming to appear near my face.

"Welcome to _The Pampered Palette_, how may I-"

My blood ran thin and cold as I opened my eyes and saw who my customers were. My hands twitched and my smile faltered as I took a step back, leaning on the table so that I wouldn't fall over. This couldn't be happening. This was all a dream! This wasn't real!

"M-Mori-senpai…H-Honey-senpai!" I stuttered uncontrollably, hiding my face with my hands. I peeked through my fingers as my face grew red and hot. "W-What…a-are you doing here?!"

The two boys were quiet for a moment as they stared at me, completely awestruck. Honey's mouth was wide open, and Mori was kinda just…standing there…with semi-wide eyes.

I gulped and tried to pull down my dress as much as possible because it was short. I looked away timidly and closed my eyes in fear.

"This…T-This isn't what it looks like!"

"Mai…you look…so cute~!" Honey beamed, leaping at me.

He wrapped his arms tightly around my neck and I had to place my hand on the table so that I wouldn't fall over. I looked at him with scared eyes and tried to peel him off of me, but to no avail. He had a strong grip when he wanted to have one.

"This…I-I can explain! M-My boss wanted me to c-cross-dress, a-and so-"

"It's ok, Mai-chan!" Honey beamed, leaping off of me to stand by his cousin. He looked up at the larger male and smiled.

"We already know that you're a girl!"

I sighed out of relief and fell back into my chair. "That's good~…wait…what?!" I looked at them with wide eyes and waved my hands in the air frantically. "Y-You mean, y-you knew a-already?! H-How?!"

How had they possibly figured it out?! Not even Kyoya knew!

My blood ran cold again as I thought that, and a blue aura soon swallowed me. Was that true? Did Kyoya know, or did he still think that I was a boy? I mean, Honey and Mori were pretty sharp, even if they didn't seem like it, but Kyoya was even sharper! He picked up everything, and literally nothing _ever_ got past him!

My mind began to race as these thoughts appeared in my head, one after one.

'_Kyoya knows! He knows! He knows I'm a girl and now he's gunna kick me out of the Host Club!' _I mentally gasped and started tugging on my rattail, very violently might I add. '_Oh god, then how am I going to pay back the money for the broken window?! I'm broke! Shit, oh shit, oh shit!'_

I hadn't noticed Honey had walked up to me as I was having my silent mental breakdown, and he was staring at me with worried eyes. He turned back to Mori with a timid glance.

"I think we broke her!"

Mori walked over to me and poked my forehead, watching as my head limply fell to the side, and nodded to his cousin in agreement.

"Ah."

Julius rolled his eyes and stood up, then stood next to me and crossed his arms. Really, this whole thing hadn't fazed him at all. He had had his suspicions that Mori and Honey already knew all of this, so he didn't really care. I mean, it really wasn't _that _hard to figure out, once you thought about it.

Julius glared at me and flicked my forehead. "Hey, Earth to bad song writer! Wake up!"

I snapped back to reality and stood up quickly, glaring at Julius with clenched teeth. "I told you to erase those lyrics!"

Julius simply flipped his hair and pointed behind me lazily.

I followed his finger and turned around to gaze at Mori and Honey, then froze again as I remembered just what situation I was in.

I took a step backwards towards Julius and hid my eyes with my bangs, then bowed deeply to show respect to my senpais.

"I'm…really sorry…for all of this."

Honey gave me a warm smile and hugged me. "Don't be sorry, Mai-chan! We didn't get mad at Haru-chan, so why would we be mad at you?"

I looked at him, tears stinging my light blue eyes. "Haru-chan is different…she's…well…she's _her_. You can like her either way, as a boy or a girl! But me…" I looked down at myself and sighed. "I'm just…_different_."

I moved my hands gently under my gaze, letting a tear roll down my cheek. I was speaking the truth, no matter how much it hurt to say. Haruhi was liked, and I was…well…_not_.

"No." I heard a strict voice say, and both Honey and I turned with shocked eyes to stare at Mori.

He looked at me with his usual bored expression and put his hand on my head, then ruffled my hair lightly. "You are Mai. You are different, yes, but everyone is not the same. You must have your reasons to hide your gender, and we won't ask unless you want to tell us."

I stared at Mori for a few moments with wide eyes, his words dancing in my mind.

'_You are different, yes, but everyone is not the same.'_ Was that really true? I mean, everyone had individuality and they were unique in many ways, so it must be true, right? Was it really ok to be so different from the others, even when I tried desperately to be the same? And why _did_ I try to be the same as the others? Because I thought it was necessary to blend in with the crowd? Bullshit! Mori was right!

More tears rolled down my cheeks and I hugged him tightly, gripping the back of his shirt. I normally wouldn't cry in front of someone, especially Mori, but I kinda just let myself go. His words had impacted me more than I thought.

Mori smiled gently and wrapped a strong arm around my shoulders, and Honey made sure to not be left out by patting my back comfortingly.

I pulled away from Mori and gave him a respectful bow, then wiped my eyes with the back of my sleeve.

"Thanks…for everything."

I cleared my throat and smiled, brushing a few strands of hair out of my face. "Now, what will your orders be?"

Mori and Honey smiled before walking over to the counter, Honey picking out which cake he wanted while Mori paid for it.

They both sat down with me and Julius and talked with us as Honey ate his cake, and I had a slice for myself as well.

Julius looked up from staring at the awful lyrics on the paper and saw me smiling as I teased Mori, causing the older male to laugh lightly. Julius' gaze softened as he stole a strawberry of my cake and smiled.

'_I knew good things would happen to her by joining the Host Club.'_

-/-

I grumbled silently as I stared up at the night sky. The cold wind chilled my nose and made me shiver occasionally, but I didn't mind. I was used to laying on the roof of my house at night when I needed to unwind from a hard and stressful day, so the cold was very familiar to me.

"Are you still upset about the lyrics?" Julius asked from my side, looking up at the sky with me.

I sighed and closed my eyes. "Yeah, I am. Those lyrics were shit, dude. I don't think I've ever written anything so horrible before."

Julius shrugged his shoulders. "Yeah we'll, you haven't written a song in three years." He looked at me and smiled. "We're just rusty, that's all. But once this whole music thing kicks off again, we'll be back in shape and ready to kick some ass!"

I sighed and placed my hands behind my head, still not bothering to open my eyes. Julius sounded so optimistic about this whole thing, but I just couldn't see how he could be so cheerful. What if we didn't get gigs like we did back up North? What if that was just a once in a life time opportunity and I blew it by having to move away? It was my fault that the band had broken up, and we could have been so successful! To this day I still felt guilty thinking about it, even though it wasn't my fault that we had to move.

I opened my eyes slowly and gazed upon the twinkling stars in the black sky. They seemed so peaceful, each one knowing what its place was in the night. How could something be so confident and dazzling?

"Julius..." I spoke slowly, catching his attention. He knew I was being serious because I hadn't used his nickname.

I sighed and spoke slowly, quietly. "Do you really think...that we can make it? ...Like we did back then?"

Julius propped himself up on his elbow to look at me. "What are you saying? Of course we'll make it!" he said proudly, giving me a stern, yet concerned look. "We'll make it even further than we did last time! I guarantee it!"

"Do you really think so?" I asked hollowly, my gaze never moving from the confident stars in the sky.

Why couldn't I be like them? So sparkling and full of life?

Julius smiled warmly. "Of course! That's our dream, right? To become famous because of our music!"  
I sighed and finally tore my gaze away from the sky as I rolled on my side, turning my back to my friend. I rolled a pebble under my finger slowly and swallowed some of my sadness. "But Julius...the thing about us...just...the thing about life is..."

Julius leaned over me and looked at me upside down. "What?"

I looked at him for a moment before averting my gaze to the side. I stopped rolling the pebble under my finger. "Julius, the thing about life is, dreams don't come true for people like us. Haven't you noticed?"  
Julius frowned and crawled over me to lie down next to the side of me that was facing him. He pushed a strand of hair out of my eyes and gave me a small, warm smile.

"That's why we have to make it happen. If life won't make our dreams come true, then we gotta show life that we can do it ourselves."

I sighed and held his hand in mine. "What if we can't do it, Julius? Life...life doesn't like us! It'll try to stop every good thing from happening to us, no matter what."

"Life didn't stop you from joining the Host Club." he pointed out matter-of-factly.

I rolled my eyes. "Joining the Host Club isn't particularly a good thing."

"Are you sure?" he questioned, curling my rattail in between his fingers. "I think meeting Cute Glasses Guy was a good thing."

I rolled my eyes. "He has a name you know. And how is it a good thing? He's so aggravating! Not to mention he's uptight, strict, no fun at all, doesn't have a sense of humor- and if he does, he doesn't show it." I started counting on my fingers as I continued. "He's way to observant, creepy, dark hearted, and kind of like a stalker because he writes down everything about everyone in that book of his. Then there's the fact that he's cruel, doesn't care about anyone, is more concerned about money than he is people, and all in all, just sucks major ass."

"I think you've got him all wrong." Julius smiled, rolling onto his stomach. "First of all, with what you've told me, he's only that way towards the other hosts. He's not that way around you, is he?"

I thought about it for a second. Was Kyoya different around me than all the others?

"I can't see any difference." I muttered, looking back at the sky.

Julius spoke up again, nudging my arm. "You know that's not true. You've filled me in with everything that's happened so far, and I can totally see some different connection between you two." I rolled my eyes as he held up his finger in front of my face. "Number one, that time at the beach when he was actually _concerned _for you, and then almost kissed you."

"He didn't almost _kiss_ me." I cut in, giving Julius a glare. "He was trying to get a better view of the bruise on my face."

Julius rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on! Then what was with that whole _'you're mine'_ thing, huh?!"

I turned my head away with an annoyed huff. "I'm his_ apprentice_, Jui-kun. That's what he meant."

"Ok, ok, sure." Julius waved his hand in the air. "But what about the time when he first hugged you because you guys were fighting and you hid in the rose garden?"

I flicked a pebble away from my side. "That was a while ago. And he was probably just trying to suffocate me."

Julius growled out of annoyance. "Jeez, you're so stupid." He rubbed his face and held up three fingers. "Ok, number three. When I told him that I was your boyfriend he got all defensive and hated my guts."

"He still hates your guts." I pointed out matter-of-factly.

Julius pouted and hung his head in shame. "I know. Jeez, why do all the cute ones hate me?"

I shrugged. "Maybe you just have that kind of aura or something."

Julius growled and smacked my head. "Stop trying to change the subject, would you?!"

I growled and rubbed the place where he had hit. "I would rather not be on this subject in the first place."

Julius' lips curved into a sly grin and his eyes narrowed evilly. "Why? Are you afraid I'm right? You're afraid that Kyoya likes you, right?"

"Likes me?!" I screeched, sitting up quickly. "Jui-kun, you have it _all _wrong!"

Of course Julius had it all wrong! I mean, come on! _Kyoya_?! Liking _me_?! That's like saying Tamaki hated Haruhi! It just wasn't possible!

"Do I really have it wrong?" Julius crossed his arms with a hair flip. "I think I'm right."

"You're not!" I growled, glaring at him. He just smirked at me, seeing as how he had struck some sort of nerve.

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair. "Julius, Kyoya doesn't like anyone. He's like a robot. He has no emotions."

"You know that's not true." Julius cut in.

I rolled my eyes. Ok, maybe that wasn't _completely_ true.

"Even so, Kyoya is a boy, and he thinks I'm a boy, and I really think he's a bit homophobic."

Julius raised an eyebrow. "But what about the twins?"

I waved a hand in the air. "That's just an act." I sighed and shook my head slowly, giving him a what-can-you-do look. "Even though Kyoya allows it in the club, I don't think he's really comfortable with it." I chuckled lightly and laid back down, placing my hands behind my head. "Trust me, if Kyoya ever even began to _think_ he might possibly be gay, he would have like, a mental break down or something."

Julius laughed. "Yeah, that sounds about right!"

I laughed with him and was about to say something along the lines of, "Seeing that would be pretty damn funny", when I heard the familiar sound of a car pulling up to the street to park. I tensed and pressed myself further onto the roof so that I couldn't be seen by people on the ground below. I motioned for Julius to do the same and to keep quiet. He did as told and I slowly crawled to the edge of the roof to peer over.

My stomach lurched as I saw my mother walking up the stairs of the apartment complex. She seemed a bit drink and was hanging off of the guy I grew to know as Ken.

I sighed and grit my teeth, crawling back towards Julius.

"Looks like it's time for you to head out." I whispered.

Julius nodded and we stealthily crawled back through my window.

I heard my mom's giggling and Ken's deep voice from inside, and I mentally shuddered. I didn't want to be in this situation again.

"Maiya, you ungrateful child, where are you?!" my mother screeched from the front room.

I stiffened and whispered to Julius to crawl out the window and leave once I was distracting my mother.

He gave me a worried glance but quickly shooed it away with a kiss on the forehead and a waved goodbye as I ran out of the room.

"Here I am, mother." I said as I ran to her, brushing off my shirt to look presentable.

She let go of Ken's arm and glared at me. "Where's dinner?"

"In the fridge, just waiting to be heated up."

I looked back towards Ken, who was probably my mother's boyfriend or most possibly sex friend, and gave a fake smile. "I wasn't aware that Ken-san was coming over. I'll prepare more food."

That really meant _'I'll give him mine_._'_

Ken gave a toothy grin and slapped me on the shoulder. "Thanks girly. You're a good kid."

"She's really not." my mother chuckled.

Ken chuckled with her before a sudden realization struck his face. "Oh! I forgot the wine in the car! I'll be right back."

My heart sank._ No! Ken, don't go outside!_

Ken opened the door and looked to his left with wide eyes. He turned back to my mother with a confused stare. "There was a boy hopping out of the window just now before he ran away."

I stood as still as stone. My blood was cold.

_No...Ken...You evil, evil man!_

My mother's gaze sat upon me like a heavy rock as she motioned for Ken to step outside. He gave me a sheepish grin before doing as told, closing the door behind him. He didn't feel bad at all that my mother beat me. He just used her to get things that he wanted, so he didn't give a shit about my life.

"You having another boy over, slut?" my mother spat, grabbing the collar of my shirt.

"N-No, ma'am." I stuttered. "I-It was just Julius. He-"

I was on the floor before I could finish my sentence, my cheek stinging in agony where she had slapped me.

"You little whore!" my mother spat, landing a kick to my ribs.

I coughed and tried to get up, only to be kicked again.

"I bring you into this world-" Kick. "and you repay me-" Kick. "by being a delinquent slut?!" Kick. Kick. Kick.

The kicking stopped and I stood up, knowing that if I stayed on the ground it would just make her even angrier with me.

"I'm sorry, ma'am." I coughed, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand.

My mother lashed at me again and yanked on my rattail. I cried out it pain before realizing my mistake. I shouldn't have yelled. Yelling always made it worse.

"Oh, so that hurts, slut?!" she snapped, dragging me to the kitchen.

I tried to pull away from her, only for her grip on my hair to tighten. It felt like she was yanking my whole rattail out of my head!

She dragged me over to the stove and tugged on my rattail even harder, leaning my face dangerously close to the burner.

"I swear, if only it was you who died instead of your brother. He was the better child! He was always the better one!"

I mumbled something, but it was basically gibberish due to the fact that I was beginning to cry.

"What was that?!" my mother yelled.

I looked up at her as much as I could with broken eyes. "I said, I know!"

"Then why are you still here, huh?! Why do you burden me so?! You let your brother die and you chased your father away! You're just a little bitch that doesn't deserve anything!"

She turned the stove on.

The flames danced dangerously close to my face, singeing my hair and reflecting from my eyes.  
I put my hands on the corner of the stove and pushed away, but my mother was much stronger than I was and kept my head in place. My tears rolled off my face and danced with the flames.

"What's wrong, Maiya? Afraid of a little fire?"

I closed my eyes in fear as she pressed my face even closer to the flames. This bitch was crazy! She was going to set me on fire! She was going to kill me!

_'Calm down, Maiya. Don't fight back. She'll get even angrier.'_

My head was thrown away from the stove and the kicking was back. I curled into a ball to try and hide my stomach, which already had most of the damage.

_'Think of your happy place. The happy place! Think of sweet things! Things you like!'_

"Get up!" my mother yelled, kicking me again.

_'Think of silence.'_

Kick.

_'Think of books.'_

Kick. Kick.

_'Think of music.'_

"Get up!" Kick. Kick. Kick.

I slowly did as told, trying to straighten myself out as much as possible.

My mother grabbed the collar of my shirt again and landed a nice clean backhand to my face.

_'Think of roses. Of peace. Of sanctuary!'_

"Ungrateful!" Slap.

_'Think of being with the people you love! The people you care about! People that make the pain stop!'_

"Worthless!" Slap. Slap.

I closed my eyes and grit my teeth.

_'The people in life that make you happy...'_

"Trash!"

_'People you love...'_

"Pathetic!" Slap. Slap. Fall.

_'People that make the pain go away...'_

Kick. Kick. Kick.

_'Think of Kyoya! He makes me happy! He makes the pain go away! Think of Kyoya!'_

I began crying again, tears pouring down my face. I had held it in for this long, but the beating was so painful now.

_'Kyoya, come make the pain go away. Come make the pain stop. Please, Kyoya. You're my happy place!'_

The kicking stopped and I could hear my mom panting from beside me. I waited on the floor for a few moments before I heard her shuffle around a bit- she was probably fixing her hair- and then sigh.

"Get out of the house. I don't want to see you."

I heard her walk away and the familiar click of the door closing echoed in my mind before I slowly staggered to my feet, wiping the blood from my face. I stumbled to my room on weak legs and grabbed my uniform and my phone, then slung my school bag over my shoulder and walked outside, passing my mother and Ken on the porch. My mother simply huffed and looked away, while Ken gave me a sheepish grin.

I wiped more blood off my face and stumbled down the stairs, beginning to walk down the street as my mother called from behind me, "And don't you even _think _about sneaking back home in the middle of the night, you peace of trash!"

I sighed and quickened my pace, clenching my sore jaw. Once I turned the corner and I knew I was positively out of sight, I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed Julius.

The phone rang a few times before Julius answered. "You get smacked again?" he questioned as his greeting.

I sighed. "Smacked. Kicked. Shoved at flames." I ran my fingers through my hair, leaving a tiny blood streak. "The usual, I guess. But the flames were new."

"We sleeping outside again, like we used to?"

I nodded, although I knew he couldn't see me. "Yep. Like we used to."

There was shuffling from the other line. "Alright. Let me grab some stuff. Where are we sleeping?"

"The school garden. We can hop the fence."

"Can you really hop the fence with your injuries?" he questioned. "I can hear you crying, and your voice is airy. I think she did a good number on you."

"I'll be fine." I breathed, continuing to walk at a quick pace, although my legs ached uncontrollably. "Oh, don't forget to bring your makeup."

"Ouch, got you that good?"

I sighed again. "When doesn't she?"

There was a silence from the other line for a few moments before I heard Julius sigh, and it sounded like he was shutting a door. "I'll meet you outside the gate. Sound good?"

I nodded again. "Sounds good."

I ended the call and shoved my phone back into my pocket. I wiped the tears from my eyes with a shaky breath and tried to control myself. It didn't really work, seeing as how I was in immense pain, but hey, I get points for at least trying.

I ran my fingers through my hair again and continued to try and wipe the blood from my face, but my lip was split and it was bleeding quite a bit.

I groaned and continued shuffling my way through the cold night, wincing with basically every step I took.

I was really upset about the beating. I mean, who wouldn't be? You got thrown around and kicked and punched while being shouted at, and it was never really your fault. Whoever was beating you normally just wanted to take their anger out on something, and you were the next best thing. So really, of course I was upset. My torso was endlessly bruised, my face was bloody and probably also bruised, and I could still see those damn flames from the stove, dancing so dangerously close to my face.

I wiped my years from my eyes and took in a deep breath, regretting it immediately when my lungs stung from the cold air. I coughed a bit but slowly calmed down, closing my eyes and gripping the strap of my school bag with a firm hand.

_'Happy place...think of your happy place.'_

I grit my teeth and stopped in my tracks, opening my eyes just a bit to stare at the road ahead of me.

_'My happy place used to be just me...me in a room, with an endless amount of books and music and a guitar. That's all I need to keep happy but...'_

I closed my eyes again and tried to imagine myself sitting in that room, reading _'To Kill a Mocking Bird'_ by Harper Lee, when I could imagine a soft knock on the door. A soft knock that was originally never there.

_'No...my happy place is being disturbed! There's supposed to be no one but me!'_

My imaginary self started walking towards the door. Who was there? I never had visitors.

_'Why is my happy place changing? What's going on?'_

My imaginary self opened the door all the way to reveal a tall boy with neatly cut black hair, dark yet light eyes, and bright shining glasses. He smiled before stepping inside, closing the door behind him with a push of his foot. Suddenly, my imaginary self was in the warm embrace of his arms, and my face was buried in his chest.

My heart began pounding -not my imaginary self's heart, but my real self's- but my eyes stayed shut. Why did I feel the need to watch my happy place being tarnished? It was supposed to be me, my books, and my music. Not...him.

My imaginary self let go to look up at the boy's face, and in turn he smiled down at me. He leaned down to my imaginary self's side and whispered in my ear.

_"You're mine."_

My eyes shot open immediately and I grasped my chest to try and calm my beating heart. Why was my heart pounding so fast? Why was I reacting like this?

I shook my head to rid myself of my happy place and quickened my pace. Really, the last person I wanted to think about was him. If he saw the condition that I was in with all my bruises and bloodied face, he would flip. Seriously, I think his brain would explode or something. I mean, if he couldn't handle knowing that my mother had left a bruise on my face with a wine bottle, I hardly think he would be able to handle the fact that I was basically in so much pain right now that I felt like passing out. Not to mention that my mother had threatened to basically set my face on fire.

I sighed and ran my hands through my hair, trying to rid myself of my thoughts. I just wanted to get to the school, possibly get at least three hours of sleep, and then tackle another day with a fake smile and a shit load of makeup.

I looked up at the sky full of confident stars and stopped in my tracks, letting my eyes glisten as I set my eyes upon the full moon.

It was gleaming with a fierce glow, much like a familiar pair of glasses I had grown to know and love.

I chuckled halfheartedly and shook my head, beginning to walk again.

Had I honestly just thought "_love_"? How strange. It must have been a slip of the tongue. (Metaphorically, of course.)

I honestly wouldn't ever think that way towards my mentor. That would just be weird. And he would _never_ think of me that way either, so why dwell on it?

My eyes narrowed and my gaze fell to the floor, my hand gripping my bag even tighter as I bit my split lip in discomfort.

He _wouldn't _think of me like that…right?

But why did I feel…so _sad_ about that?

* * *

**Okkkkkk, so, not proud of this chapter at all, but I needed to get it finished before I have a ton of shit to do. Karate is super stressful and school really isn't any better, but hey, I'll still find time to post things because for some odd reason, you people seem to like reading it!**

**I didn't feel like proof reading this, so I'm sorry if there are any typos.**

**Anyways, another thanks to Eibon and Lucio (I credited you three times now, Lucio, stop trying to murder me) for helping me write this chapter.**

**The next chapter will be a sad and serious one, so prepare yourself!**

**And what's this? Mori and Honey know Mai's secret!**

**I wonder how this will turn out, don't you?**

**Don't forget to follow, favorite, and review! And also, don't forget to check out my Deviantart, DarkKisshu!**

**-Maiya Tsuki Takahashi**


	20. Chapter 20

**Konichiwa fellow fanfictioners!**

**Welcome to another chapter of Kyoya's apprentice!**

**As always, thank you for the follows, the favorites, and the reviews! You guys are amazing and wonderful people, and I really wish I knew you all in real life. That would just be awesome and amazing.**

**Secondly, I just wanted to ask this, but would any of you believe me if I told you that this fanfiction wasn't originally going to be a KyoyaxOC story? That's right! This little fanfiction was going to be a sweet and innocent one with no romance and no fluff. But, as I began to write more, the story kinda took over and wrote itself, and now I have this little KyoyaxOC fanfic! (I personally like it better this way. A story without at least one chapter of fluff is super boring.)**

**So anyways, just thought I would mention that little fun fact.**

**Ahem, so now we shall get on with the story. This chapter is a sad one, so be prepared! Sit back, relax, and enjoy!**

* * *

It was quiet. And cold. Quiet and cold. Not a very nice combination, I thought.

I walked down the crowded school hallway with Julius' arm linked with mine; grimacing at every step I took. We had slept outside in the garden for the night, which might sound cool, but in reality sucked major ass.

My hair was tussled and un-brushed, my clothes were wrinkled and grass stained (I had to wear them over my regular clothes because it was so cold outside) and over all, I just looked like a mess. Julius didn't look as bad as I did, but he still looked pretty bad. At least he wasn't wearing as much makeup as a drag queen to hide bruises.

I continued to walk down the dull hallway, glancing at the people whispering and pointing at Julius and me. My eyes simply narrowed in contempt. It was like this every morning.

"Julius," I muttered, barely loud enough for him to hear. "I can walk on my own, you know."

Julius shook his head and glanced at a group of girls that were giggling (quite devilishly, might I add).

"You could barely stand this morning. And look at you now. You're hunched over in pain. Just shut up and let me hold your arm."

I rolled my eyes but said nothing more. I didn't have the energy to argue.

Julius and I continued to walk, and the more I glanced around with an emotionless expression, the more the whispers seemed to continue.

I sighed and locked my gaze on the ground. I should be used to the whispering by now. I should be used to all the pointing and weird stares that I would get. It all started after I joined the Host Club.

You see, after I had joined the Host Club and had gained fan girls, I wasn't seen as the badass that could kick ass now. Oh no. Now I was seen as one of the nice boys with a pretty face that tried their absolute hardest to gain popularity.

Another reason why I hated being in that damn club.

"Look, there goes the fag of Ouran!" someone yelled beyond the quiet murmurs.

I clenched my jaw. Of course. There was always one that didn't whisper.

I continued to walk with Julius, paying the boy no mind.

"Hey, didn't you hear me, faggot?!" he called again, louder this time.

My body tensed. I knew where this was going. It had happened before.

"Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

The back of my shirt was yanked at and I was pulled backwards, out of Julius' grasp. I was turned around as the collar of my shirt was being tugged forcefully, and I was almost being lifted into the air, but I was standing on my toes to prevent it. I looked behind me to see Julius being held by a light haired boy with freckles. Julius was struggling to get out of his grasp, but it wasn't working so well. The boy holding him was far bigger than Julius could ever even _dream_ of being.

I turned back to the person that had grabbed hold of me, my emotionless face never fading. It was a dark haired boy that had grabbed me. The same dark haired boy that I had been fighting the day I broke a window.

"Can I help you with something?" I asked calmly.

The boy scowled at me and his grip on my shirt tightened. "God, just look at you! Pathetic!" He shook me once or twice to get my attention. "You walk around with that emotionless face of yours because you're worth nothing! What the hell happened to you?!"

I shrugged and placed my hands in my jacket pockets, giving off an aloof attitude. "I don't know what you mean."

"Shut up!" the boy snapped, silencing me. He looked around to see everyone staring, and a devilish smile slowly grew on his face. He turned back to me. "The Host Club must have really broken you."

My eyes narrowed even more so than they already were. That wasn't true. It couldn't be and would never be true.

"I cannot be broken."

The boy rolled his eyes. "Oh, please!" He made a gesture with his free hand. "You don't fight anymore. You don't yell anymore! Hell, you don't even have that badass look in your eyes anymore!" He hushed his voice to a low rumble. "You're just broken. Like a mutt that's finally been house trained."

"Shut up." I growled, clenching my jaw. He was making me mad, but I couldn't show it. I didn't want to start a fight with my injuries.

The boy's eyes widened. "Shut up?" he mocked, beginning to chuckle. "Shut up? Shut up?! Did you honestly just tell me to shut up?!"

I let my gaze fall to the side. I could see everyone watching. The funny thing was, none looked worried. They were all excited. They wanted to see me get hurt. They were just waiting for something to happen.

"Dammit, why won't you look at me?!"

There was a loud smack and I was on the ground, my already bruised jaw throbbing in pain from where he had punched me. I grimaced and held back tears as I propped myself up on my elbows, glaring daggers at my enemy

He crossed his arms and smirked down at me.

"You're just broken. The Host Club turned you into a faggot."

He brought his foot back and kicked me harshly in the ribs. Julius looked away in horror. He couldn't do anything more.

"What are you gunna do about it?!" my enemy screeched, grabbing the collar of my shirt again to hoist me to my feet.

I held back the grimace of pain that I had and looked at him blankly, my eyes never widening and my lips never twitching into a frown or smile.

What _would _I do? What _could _I do? I couldn't possibly fight him with the injuries I had. That would just be running towards suicide!

I let my gaze slip to side again as a depressed sigh escaped from my lungs.

"Nothing." I whispered, shooing his hand off of my shirt.

I straightened and smoothed out my jacket, then turned my back on him and yanked Julius away from the light haired kid.

Julius looked at me with concerned eyes as we began walking down the hallway again.

It was quiet. Always quiet. And cold. Always cold.

"So that's it, faggot?!" the boy called from behind me. I could tell he was simply furious.

I stopped in my tracks and turned my head back towards him with a nod. "Of course," I said silently, watching as his face flushed with anger. "If I were to get into a fight, it would give a bad name to the Host Club, and I can't have that happening."

"So that's it, then?!" the black haired boy breathed. "You just give up? You're done?"

I nodded slowly and he narrowed his eyes.

"You're pathetic and weak, you know that Takahashi?! You're nothing but trash!" he turned his back on me and held his head high. "Who knew something like the Host Club could break the great Mai Takahashi and turn him into nothing but a pathetic faggot mutt."

And with that said, he sped off with his friend in tow, and the students in the hallway turned to stare at me with anticipating eyes.

What was going to happen next? If it were the old Mai Takahashi, he wouldn't take that and would gladly punch the dude in the face. He would start and end a fight no problem. He would give that bastard the old one-two!

But I wasn't the old Mai Takahashi. I was the new and improved one. The one that didn't fight people. The one that didn't cause problems.

Julius linked arms with me again and we began walking down the hall, passing through the whispers and the odd stares.

I knew that this would be all over school by second period. Things like this were _always _spread around school in less than an hour.

"That was bold." Julius whispered as we turned a corner, away from all of the whispering rich people.

I shrugged my shoulders and grabbed my side. "Yeah? It sure doesn't feel that way."

Julius huffed and held onto me tighter, noticing how I was beginning to slouch over more in pain.

"These bastards don't know a thing about class. They're rich snobs that think they can do whatever they want just because they have money."

"You would expect them to have some manners." I coughed, leaning onto Julius for more support. "Even my old gang had better manners than that, and we're talking about people who murdered for money."

Julius sighed and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear. "Just be grateful the Host Club isn't like the others."

I sighed and looked at him with a soft smile. "Trust me," I whispered, leaning my head against the crook of his neck. "I am."

-/-

I stared out the window of my class with bored eyes, slowly tapping my finger on my desk. I watched the wind blow in the trees, making the leaves dance happily in content. The birds were singing and the sun shone brightly, making the blue sky seem to shine majestically.

I sighed and tore my gaze away from the happiness of outside, forcing myself to glare down at my desk. I wanted to lean my head on my hand, but I didn't want to ruin my makeup and uncover my large bruises.  
Honestly, I hated wearing makeup. I hated it just as much as I hated dresses. But I couldn't just go walking around with a purple swollen face, could I? No. Kyoya would freak out.

My eyes narrowed as I thought of my mentor. What had happened last night? I had subconsciously thought of him entering my private state of mind. The only place that made me happy. And he had forcefully intruded in on it! He made his way into my happy place without permission!

I bit my split lip in discomfort and my tapping became angrier.

Why couldn't I seem to get my mind off of him for the past few days? I swear, every time I let my mind run free it was Kyoya this, Kyoya that. It was unimaginably annoying and angered me to no end. I had never thought about someone so much before, so why start now? It's not like I liked him or anything! That would just be weird!

...right?

"Takahashi-san."

Of course that would be weird. He was my mentor. I was his apprentice.

"Takahashi-san."

Weird beyond belief. Definitely weird. Weird, weird, weird.

"Takahashi-san!"

I had never even had a crush on someone before! Love was stupid and unneeded! I wasn't capable of actually _falling_ for someone, let alone _Kyoya_!

"Ta-ka-ha-shi-san!"

Shit. Was someone calling my name?

I tore myself away from my thoughts and glanced up at my angry language teacher as she slapped my desk with her ruler. She glared at me with fierce eyes and crossed her arms with a scowl.

"Glad to finally have your attention." she growled, her glare deepening.

I smiled sheepishly at her. "Glad to finally give you my attention."

There was a muffled laughter from the class as Sensei clicked her tongue in annoyance. Why did she have to get stuck with the delinquent in her class? Because life wasn't fair, that's why.

Sensei sighed and pushed up her glasses, then stalked back to her desk and sat on it.

"Takahashi-san, I want you to stand up and answer the question 'What does happiness mean to you?'"

I raised my eyebrow but stood as told, glancing around the room of students. They were all staring at me with anticipating eyes, waiting for me to say something.

I turned back to Sensei with a frown. "What happiness means to me?" I questioned nervously, trying to stall. Honestly, the last thing I wanted to do was answer this question.

She simply rolled her eyes. "Yes. If you had been paying attention, you would have noticed that everyone has been answering different questions based on their own opinion."

"Could I possibly have a different question?" I asked, tugging at my rattail.

Sensei's eyes narrowed. "Stop trying to stall. Just tell the class what happiness means to you."

I nodded in defeat and turned to the class slowly, rubbing the back of my neck. I averted my gaze to the side. "Well..." I glanced back at Sensei, who was giving me the _I'm-waiting_ look, and I sheepishly turned back to the faces of the waiting students. I took in a long breath and sighed deeply, then straightened up and put on my emotionless mask. If the students judged me, so be it. I didn't care what they thought of me in the slightest. They were all just a bunch of bastards anyway.

"Well, happiness is the feeling of joy you get when something good happens, right? It's that feeling of accomplishment. The feeling of knowing that you're worth something."

I took a glance at Sensei and she motioned for me to keep going.

I signed again and ran my hands through my hair. "That's what a normal person sees happiness as, but...I'm not normal." My eyes narrowed and my voice dropped. "Happiness is nothing but a lie fed to you by your innocence. Happiness does not exist in a world of pain and suffering. It does not have a place in this society." I clenched my fists at my sides and continued my rant. The words were simply pouring out of me at this point, and I couldn't stop.

"The saddest thing I can think of is that children wake up early because they are excited for the day ahead. They are excited to live their lives, because they are filled with innocence. Children don't know that the world is a very painful place. They must grow up and experience it on their own. They must learn the hard way that happiness is something that will fade away as they get older."

All eyes were on me now. The people that had been doodling in their notebooks had stopped drawing and the people who had been sleeping were now watching me with tired eyes.

I frowned and continued my rant, shaking my head as I did so.

"I wish I could hold a child in my arms and apologize. To say, _'I'm sorry that you had to be brought into this world. Once you're brought in, there's only one way out, and it's not fair. Do you feel that warmness inside your chest? The thing you call happiness? I want you to always remember it, because it will leave once your innocence is taken away from you_.'" I held out my arms, as if I was actually holding a small child. "I would hug that child so close and I would cry for it, because I remember how it felt like to be a child, yet I don't remember how happiness felt like, because I never held it close, because I never thought it would leave me."

I glared at the class in front of me as my hands fell to my sides. My jaw clenched as my sad mood was quickly washed away by anger.

"I'm asked every day, _'Are you happy?'_

"No. How can I be when the world is so messed up? To be happy is to be fake, and I'm not fake. I'm not a doll that goes through every day with a smile on my face like it's stitched in place."

The girl next to me shuffled uncomfortably and mumbled to herself, "But if you don't smile, won't God be upset?"

I laughed loudly and turned to her with pained eyes. She stared at me in horror, for she didn't think she had said it loud enough for me to hear.

"God?!" I mocked, giving another laugh. I threw my hands in the air wildly. "What God?! God has abandoned us! There is no God!" my eyes narrowed again and my voice fell to a hushed tone. "There is no one watching out for us. We are on our own."

I turned to the class again and spoke loudly for all to hear. My head was held high and I showed on my face that I wasn't scared to say this answer. If they didn't expect this from me, then they were honestly stupid.

"_'Are you happy?'_ is thrown my way constantly by people with stitched smiles. I can't help but think, how are they not broken? How are they so _blind_ to the bad things in the world?!

"I think the proper question should be _'Are you less sad than yesterday?'_, because the truth is, there is no happiness. You can really only be less sad."

I ran my hands through my hair again, paying no mind to my teacher who was watching me with wide eyes. She should have taken my advice to give me a different question.

"There are days when I cannot part from my bed because I know what the day will hold, and it makes me sick to my stomach. But then there are days where I can be with my friends and laugh. I can get through a day with a smile on my face, one that _isn't_ stitched.

"But it's not because I'm happy. It's just because I'm less sad than yesterday."

I looked the class over one last time as my speech was coming to an end, and I had to hold back a smirk as I saw all of the shocked faces of my fellow classmates.

I shoved my hands in my jacket pockets and shrugged, adding in a last sentence or two.

"Happiness is a lie that fades with innocence, but once our innocence is gone, what do we have?"

I turned and glared at my teacher with daring eyes, watching in amusement as her mouth was opening and closing, much like a fish out of water.

I sat on my desk and crossed my legs, giving the class a shit-eating smirk.

"Can we really be less sad than yesterday?"

The class was silent. Dead silent. If I were to drop a feather right now, I bet I could hear it land.  
The silence was broken when one girl started crying, and her friends tried desperately to comfort her. Once the silence had been broken, it could not be brought back. There was an uproar of whispers and sad faces, all contemplating what I had just said.

"Is that really true?"

"It makes sense if you think about it."

"So are we really less sad than yesterday?"

"Is happiness really a lie?!"

The class was frantic and getting louder by the second. There were worried faces, crying girls, and comforting friends. Everyone was in distress. And then there was me, smiling with pleasure at the chaos I had caused.

"Class, class!" Sensei called, smacking her ruler on her desk in an attempt to get the class's attention.

"That's enough! Be quiet! Settle down!"

I smirked to myself and sat back down in my chair, glancing out the window again. I gave a short chuckle as Sensei tried to calm the hysteric students, and she cast a dark glare my way.

She really should have given me a different question.

-/-

The class bell rang and I quickly stood up, grabbing my bag and slinging it over my shoulder, preparing to dash out the door when:

"Takahashi-san, I wish to speak to you."

A few students snickered as they passed me, but quickly shut up as I sent them a cold glare.

I walked up to Sensei's desk after all of the students had cleared out.

"Yes?"

Sensei glanced up at me from writing in her notebook.

"That was some answer you gave, Takahashi-san. It took me five minutes to get the class settled down."

I shrugged and shoved my hands in my jacket pockets nonchalantly. "Just being honest."

Sensei hummed and tapped her pencil on her notebook, seeming to be in thought.

I raised an eyebrow and backed up a bit. "Well, if that's all, I'll be leaving now."

Sensei shook her head and wrote something down on the corner of her page before ripping it out and handing it to me.

I took the paper in my hand and glanced at it curiously. It was a phone number.

I raised my eyebrow again in confusion and looked back at my teacher. "Um...thank you?"

Sensei sighed and ran a tired hand through her hair. "Call it I you ever feel like doing something...stupid."

I glanced at the paper again and my blood began to boil. I knew this number. I knew it all too well. What the hell kind of a joke was this?

"It's the suicide hotline." Sensei spoke again, glancing at me. "I know a troubled student when I see one. I had my suspicions about you and well...today kind of proved something to me."

I crumpled the paper in my hand and shoved it in my pocket, glaring daggers at my teacher. She had no right to be doing this. She had no right to be calling me out on my depression.

"I've noticed a few scars on you in the past." Sensei mumbled, glancing at my wrists. "Self-harm?"

"I don't need to answer that." I growled, deepening my glare.

I turned on my heel and stomped to the door, but stopped with my hand on the handle as Sensei called out to me.

"I'm sorry, Takahashi-san. I'm just trying to help."

I glanced back at my teacher with cold eyes and scowled.

"I already know the suicide hotline number by heart." I turned away from her with an annoyed huff and opened the door. "But thanks for trying. See you tomorrow, if I don't decide to ditch."

I stepped outside and slammed the door behind me, clenching my jaw in anger as I did so.

What the hell kind of a joke was that? Giving me the suicide hotline number just because I had answered a question honestly? She had no right!

"I take it class didn't go so well?" Julius asked from my side, taking my hand in his. "I heard your Sensei wanted to speak with you?"

I nodded and ran a hand over my face. "Yeah."

"What did you do this time?"

I rolled my eyes as we began walking to the Host Club, my second home.

"I spoke the truth."

Julius laughed sympathetically. "You know people don't like it when you do that."

I sighed deeply and shoved my free hand in my pocket, like I always did. "I know."

Nothing else was said as we made our way to the Host Club, occasionally passing by a few students who smirked at us, but otherwise did nothing more. I sighed as I stopped in front of the great doors of the club, staring at them with contemplating eyes.

Should I ditch today, or should I host? If I didn't show up, Kyoya might be angry with me, and I didn't want that happening. I didn't like making him angry.

Wait, why should I care? I didn't give a rat's ass if I made anyone angry, so why should I care about angering Kyoya?! Why couldn't I get him out of my friking head?!

"Are you sure you want to go today?" Julius mumbled, seeming to be on the same track as I was.

I sighed for the hundredth time today and gave a small shrug, parting with my thoughts for now. "I don't know. My body really hurts, but if I ditch Kyoya will want to know what's wrong and he'll go all creeper mode like at the beach."

"Like when he tried to kiss you?" Julius questioned innocently, although he knew he was being devilish.

I glared at him from the corners of my eyes. "Didn't try to kiss me, Jui-kun. We've been over this."

Julius rolled his eyes. "Fine. Tried to look at your bruise. Whatever." He turned back to the Host Club doors and clicked his tongue. "I can't go today to hang out, but I think you should go. It'll be a good distraction from today's events."

I hesitated a moment before nodding sadly, letting Julius' hand go and giving him a hug goodbye.

I watched him walk away with a wave of his hand before turning back to the doors, groaning to myself as I placed my hand on the handle.

"Here we go..."

-/-

I took a quiet sip of my tea as I stared out the window blankly, lost in my thoughts. I was glad that I was alone today and didn't have any guests.

After much begging and pleading (I even had to get on my knees at one point) for Kyoya to dismiss all of my appointments for the day, he finally gave in and did what I was asking. I had been surprised that he had agreed to dismiss my guests, but I quickly shrugged it off with a grateful thank you and a pained smile.

Now, as I said, I was staring out the clear window next to my table, sipping my tea.

I sighed deeply and closed my eyes, resting my head on my hand. I didn't care if my makeup smudged anymore. I was sure that Julius had put enough on me to make sure it wouldn't come off.

_'Damn Kyoya.'_ I thought bitterly, my brows furrowing._ 'I can't stop thinking about him after last night. He's such a nuisance!'_

I began thinking back to last night in discomfort. I remembered how shocked I was to find him intruding on my happy place. The only place I held dearly to me. The only place where I could escape to without pain. Without the horrible images of flames dancing around my face.

And he had stepped in without asking, taking me in a warm embrace which I personally didn't want, but my imaginary self had welcomed it with open arms.

And then he had said it. Those two words that had been haunting me ever since the beach. Those two stupid words that make me shiver in discomfort, sending chills down my spine.

_'You're mine.'_

I sipped my tea angrily as the words danced in my head. What had he possibly meant by saying that? I mean sure, technically I WAS his because I was his apprentice. That made a lot of sense. But he had said it so...differently. Like it held a hidden meaning.

"Jeez, Mai." I muttered, placing my teacup down to stare into it blankly. I shook my head to rid myself of the odd thoughts in my head. "You're just getting worked up over nothing. Whatever you're thinking, it's not true."

"What's not true?"

I jumped in surprise and turned around to see Kyoya giving me an odd look, eyebrow raised in suspicion.

My face began to heat up and I looked away, running the back of my neck in embarrassment.

"A-Ah...nothing, nothing. Just some stupid theory that Julius put in my head."

Kyoya's eyes narrowed at the mention of the blonde's name, but he quickly hid his contempt behind the gleam of his glasses.

He placed his notebook on my table and sat in the chair across from me, staring at me with contemplating eyes.

I looked up at him from staring at the floor and gave a sheepish grin.

"Something I can help you with?"

Kyoya shrugged and crossed his legs. He opened his notebook and clicked his pen, then began turning the pages as he said, "I was wondering why you stooped so low as to begging on your knees to get out of hosting today."

I started tugging on my rattail nervously and looked away again. I really didn't like making eye contact when I was nervous. Then again, I really didn't like making eye contact like, ever.

I took in a shaky breath and put on my best fake smile. "I just...didn't feel like it?"

Kyoya gave me a suspicious look before clicking his pen again, placing it on his notebook. He intertwined his fingers in front of him on the table and let out a sigh.

"I know you wouldn't do that, because more guests means more money, and that means paying off your debt faster." He looked at me over the edge of his glasses and I gulped silently. "I'll ask again. Why aren't you hosting?"

I stood up quickly and placed my teacup on my tray, finding any excuse I could use to leave. I picked up my tray frantically and let my nervousness get to me, which really I was trying to avoid. Oh well, nothing really ever goes as planned.

"I-I think I should take this t-to the kitchen." I stuttered, still refusing to look at him. "B-But talking to you was fun!"

I turned on my heel to dart away quickly, when a sight of an entering guest caught my eye. My blood ran cold and I stood still as stone, simply too afraid to move.

My body tensed as the boy looked around the room, seeming to be searching for someone. His eyes finally set upon me and a Cheshire cat grin grew on his face, showing his crystal teeth. His friends spotted me as well and began chuckling, one of them even taking the chance to crack his knuckles to try and intimidate me.

I gulped in fear and set my tray down, looking at Kyoya with worried eyes as the boy and his friends made their way to my table.

My back was turned to him as he approached me.

"What's up, Takahashi?" he said in a sarcastic tone. I could just imagine the shit-eating grin on his face.  
I took in a deep breath and collected myself, mustering up a very un-amused blank face like I did this morning.

Kyoya seemed a bit surprised at my sudden mood change, but otherwise said nothing. He was going to see how this all played out.

I turned to face my enemy and placed my hands behind my back calmly.

"Not much. How are you?"

The boy's grin faltered a bit before he put it back up again, cracking his knuckles as he did so.

"We have some unfinished business to take care of."

I looked at his fists, then back up at his shit-eating grin, all the while mentally screaming for him to leave.  
This wasn't good. This wasn't good at all. I mean, I didn't mind getting punched in the face. It happened a lot. I was used to it.

But Kyoya was sitting not two feet away, and while I was actually sort of glad that I had him there to protect me, I was also a bit scared for my enemy's wellbeing if he decided to try anything. Don't get me wrong, Kyoya would never hit him or strangle him (at least I don't _think_ he would). Oh no, he would let his little police force family take care of that.

I mentally shuddered at the thought of it all. Sure, I hated this kid, but was it really fair to sick Kyoya on him? That would just be major hell!

The boy's eyes narrowed and he clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Don't think I'm letting you off so easy, fag."

My face remained the same, but my hands clenched behind me in anger.

Ok. Maybe this kid _did_ deserve to get Kyoya sicked on him. Major hell or not, he was a complete asshole.  
Kyoya scowled at the boy and stood up, but still chose not to intervene. He wanted to see how I would handle this.

I made a short humming noise and pushed a few strands of hair out of my face, seeming to be paying the boy no mind.

"I think our business was as good as done."

I began fixing my hair, seeing as how I hadn't bushed it yet today, and continued to seem like I didn't care. "I don't see the point in coming here. You shouldn't waste your time."

My enemy snarled and grabbed the wrist that was fixing my hair.

I let my eyes slowly slip forward to gaze at him, but my face sill remained emotionless.

"What the hell is wrong with you, Takahashi?!" the boy screamed, squeezing my wrist tightly. "What the hell has gotten into you?!"

I looked at him innocently with my pale blue eyes, letting my lips twitch into a faint smile.

"I don't know what you mean."

My enemy bit his lip and growled in anger. He looked down and hid his eyes with his bangs, and his grip on my wrist tightened even more.

"Acting so innocent as if nothing's wrong... Not fighting back when someone hit you in the face..." The boy glared up at me with furious eyes and snapped. "That's not the Takahashi I know! That's not the Takahashi I used to fight! Where is my old bastard enemy?!"

He raised his hand to backhand me, but as he brought his arm down, it was blocked by a wooden ruler.

My eyes widened as I turned to look at my mentor. He had a blank look on his face, but I could tell he was pissed.

Kyoya glared at my enemy with cold eyes as he put the ruler on the table. He pushed up his glasses with his middle finger and crossed his arms, his furious gaze never leaving the black haired boy.

"I would advise you not to start fights in the Host Club." Kyoya spoke harshly, putting on a gentleman smile. I honestly had to sweat drop at that. He was speaking so harshly, yet held a nice smile.

It kind of reminded me of an insane murderer.

My enemy let go of my wrist and mumbled something under his breath. He turned back to me, watching how I smoothed out my shirt like nothing had happened, and grit his teeth in anger.

"You're so broken, Takahashi! They've changed you, and you can't even see it!"

I straightened my jacket and looked around the room cautiously. Everyone was watching.

I let my eyes slide back to my enemy and waved a hand at him, tying to signal him to be quiet.

"Please, Nagaku-san, you're attracting attention again."

My enemy, Nagaku, clenched his fists at his sides and stomped his foot in anger.

"Good!" He yelled furiously, his eyes burning with anger. "I want everyone to hear this!" He pointed an angry finger at me and snarled. "You used to be the talk of the school! You used to be feared by everyone! What happened?!" He threw his hand to the side in anger. "You're pathetic! You were broken so easily, and for what?!" He waved his hands in the air to gesture to the Host Club. "For something stupid like this?! What do you see in these idiot people?! They're nothing but fags! They don't care about anything other than feelings up girls and earning money for it!" Nagaku snorted in laughter and held his head high. "Hell, you guys are all probably just secretly gay for each other!"

My emotionless mask shattered as he said that. He had pushed it too far, and now I was furious. Now I was going to do something.

I grabbed Nagaku by his neck, startling his friends for they didn't think I was going to lash out at him like that.

I squeezed his neck just enough for him to start choking, bringing him to a point where if he wanted to breath, he would have to struggle.

I leaned in close to Nagaku's face, almost touching nose-to-nose, and stared him in the eyes, piercing him with an angry blue sorrow.

"You listen here, Nagaku, and you listen good." My grip on his neck tightened and I gave an angry grin.

"The Host Club is the only family I have. They are the only ones I care about." My smile faltered and I gave a pouty face. "But you wouldn't know about that, because we're all just a bunch of fags, right? We're probably just all gay for each other." I glared at him darkly as something in me snapped, and my grip on his neck tightened to a point where I was completely cutting off his air supply.

I brought him in closer and tilted his head to the side so I could whisper in his ear.  
I smiled darkly as I let the words dance from my lips. "Nagaku, if anyone is broken, it's you. You are the pathetic one, so just give up, ok?"

Nagaku grabbed my arm with his hands and struggled to pry himself free. He let teas fall from his eyes as he tried gasping for breath, only to choke as he failed.

"Mai!" Kyoya called, picking up his ruler. "Let go!"

My eyes darkened and I grit my teeth. I could see the pain in Nagaku's eyes. The pain that I had wanted to see for so long. The pain I wanted to cause him for all of those days he tortured me after school for being in the Host Club.

I was giving all of that pain back now.

"Mai!" Kyoya called again, but again, I ignored him.

"Nagaku..." I snarled, my face twisting into a mix of hatred and rage. "You...you're so cruel..."

Nagaku let more tears roll from his eyes and his knees began to buckle underneath him.

I held onto him tightly and clenched my other fist at my side.

This was my revenge. This was my revenge on him for being so cruel. This was revenge on my mother for beating me senseless at night. This was revenge for all of those times when people would laugh and point and stare and whisper and scream and yell and make jokes!

This was my revenge on the _world_!

Kyoya grabbed my arm and glared at me darkly, growling under his breath, "Let. Go. Now."

My face returned to its normal state and my eyes lightened as I dropped Nagaku on the floor, completely unaware of what I had been doing. My anger had taken over. My rage had taken over my thoughts and I had almost killed someone!

I stared at my hands blankly as Nagaku couched for air on the ground, his friends rushing to his side to help.

"I... What did I..." I mumbled to myself with wide eyes as I began shaking lightly.

Nagaku stood with the aid of his friends and rubbed his neck, still lightly gasping for air.  
I looked up at him with horror-struck eyes, and he smirked at me devilishly in return as he cleared his throat.

"Welcome back, Takahashi." he chuckled darkly, beginning to walk away. He turned back to me once he was at the doors of the club and called out, "It's good to have the crazy Takahashi back. I didn't like the proper one."

And with that said, he trailed out with his friends in tow, leaving me with shaking hands and all eyes on me.

I looked around the room timidly. Everyone was staring at me. Everyone was whispering! They all had shocked faces and some were crying and they were all just..._whispering_!

I quickly turned on my heels and made my escape to the kitchen, wiping the tears from my eyes with shaking hands. I had to be alone. I had to get away from all of the staring. All of that damned whispering.

I curled into a tight ball in the corner and hugged my knees to my chest like a lifeline, uncontrollably sobbing to myself.

Why did that happen? Why did I screw up everything? Why did I break everything I touched?! Why was I like this?!

I continued to sob to myself and almost didn't notice the cold hand on my shoulder, but when I turned to see who was touching me I saw no other than my mentor squatting down to my eye level and looking at me with concerned eyes.

"K-Kyo-kyo..." I mumbled, surprised that he had followed me. My shocked expression quickly vanished as my face scrunched in a painful sorrow.

I lunged at my mentor and hugged him tightly around the neck, sending us both to the ground. I didn't care though. I didn't care at all. I just cared that I had Kyoya.

I buried my face in his chest and bawled, clutching onto the back of his shirt with shaking fingers.  
Kyoya was surprised at first as I lunged at him, but was even more surprised now at the position we were in. I was lying on top of him and bawling my eyes out, and also clutching onto him like a lifeline.  
If this wasn't embarrassing to him, then he didn't know what was.

Kyoya pushed his thoughts aside and propped himself up on one elbow, snaking his other arm around my waist to hold me closer to him.

I continued to cry as he tried to calm me down, occasionally stroking my hair or whispering things that I couldn't comprehend due to my intense sobbing.

I hiccupped and wiped my tears with one hand, making sure to hold on tightly to Kyoya with the other. I didn't want to let him go. I didn't want to let him go ever. Kyoya was mine, and I needed him.

"I'm so sorry, Kyo-Kyo." I hiccupped, letting my tears fall freely. "I-I'm so sorry, I-I didn't mean it, h-honest."

Kyoya stroked my hair calmly and made shushing noises in an attempt to calm me down. Honestly, it reminded him of trying to comfort a crying child after they fell and scraped their knee.

Kyoya knew that was an understatement of a metaphor, of course. This was far worse. His apprentice wasn't crying because he had a scraped knee. He was crying because he had almost _killed _someone.

I hugged him tightly around the neck again and buried my face in the crook of his neck. My cold tears continued to fall from my eyes, dampening his skin, but he really didn't seem to mind at all as he hugged me even closer to himself.

"Don't be sorry, Mai. It was an accident." He pulled away from me and wiped my tears with his thumb. "Stop crying, Mai. I've got you. You're ok. You're safe."

"H-He called you guys fags. H-He s-said such mean things about y-you guys." I whimpered, letting him dry my tears. "I-I couldn't help myself."

"I know." Kyoya cooed softly, taking his handkerchief out of his jacket pocket to wipe my tears with instead of using his thumb. "Come now, the twins are taking care of it all by saying it was a staged act. You know how clueless our customers are. They believe everything the twins say." Kyoya continued to wipe my tears as he tried to calm me down. "It's alright now, don't worry."

I continued to cry and grabbed Kyoya's hand with both of mine and stared him in the eyes, showing him just how much pain I was in. I held onto his hand even tighter and continued to let my tears fall. It seemed like I just couldn't stop crying, even though I really wanted to.

"You know I love you, right?" I asked innocently, watching as his eyes widened under his glasses.

Kyoya felt his heart skip a beat at this. He didn't know why, of course, and he really didn't _want_ to know why, but there was no mistaking that it did.

What was his apprentice saying? Was he insane?! He _must _be insane! To say something like that…that was just _absurd_!

A faint blush crept up on Kyoya's cheeks as his voice was caught in his throat, causing him to grow silent. He didn't know how to respond. Honestly, how _did_ one respond to something like this? Sure, Kyoya had had girls confess their "undying love" to him before. It had happened too many times to count!

But this was different. Kyoya didn't know _how _or _why_ it was different, but it just was. He could feel it in his gut.

"M-Mai… That's… Um…" he coughed sheepishly, looking away as his blush grew an even deeper shade of red.

'_Crap,' _he thought angrily, biting his lip, '_Why am I getting flustered?'_

I gave his hand a tight squeeze, catching his attention again.

"I love all of you guys. The Host Club." I looked at him with innocent eyes and mustered a pained smile. "You guys are the only family I have. You're the only ones I care about…" I looked down sadly and dropped Kyoya's hand. "…The only ones that care about _me_."

Kyoya had to admit that he felt the slightest bit relieved that Mai wasn't confessing his love to him, but instead calling the Host Club family. Of course, Kyoya could still feel an empty spot in his heart that wasn't relieved, but instead a bit hurt. He didn't exactly know _why, _of course.

No, wait, that was a lie. He knew why, but he was hiding from it for now. For now and forever. Yep, that sounded like a good plan to him.

Kyoya opened his mouth to say something, but I quickly cut him off without noticing.

"Senpai, I gave up fighting at school because I didn't want to give the Host Club a bad name. Now I'm not the badass on campus anymore. They call me a good boy. They've started calling me a pixie, and a fairy, and so many other names." I wiped my remaining tears with the back of my sleeve. "It's really hard. No one respects me anymore. I'm just picked on and I can't do anything about it. I can't fight anymore, because I don't want to get the Host Club in trouble." I looked at him with pained eyes, but somehow mustered a smile as I held onto his shirt again, like a tiny child holding onto their mother. "I especially don't want to get you in trouble, senpai. You're my mentor and I don't want to give you a bad name."

Kyoya swallowed the embarrassment holding onto his voice and sighed. "You've…really given up fighting…for us…"

I nodded slowly and climbed off of him, allowing him to sit up right. I held his hand in mine and looked down sadly.

"Of course. You guys are the only family I have now… I really love you guys to death."

There was a long silence as Kyoya pondered what I was saying.

It was true, once he thought about it. Mai didn't have anyone to turn to. He didn't have anyone to talk to when he was sad, and he didn't have any family anymore. Sure, he had a mother, but Kyoya wouldn't count her as family in the slightest way possible. If anything, Mai's mother was just playing God because she knew she could do whatever the hell she wanted to Mai without the boy complaining about it.

Just the thought of that made Kyoya's blood boil with anger until he wanted to hit something.

Kyoya decided to leave the thought alone for the time being and ran a hand through his hair tiredly.

Kyoya noticed me still looking down and held my chin with one hand, tilting my head up and forcing me to look at him.

He sighed again as he brushed his thumb over my lips gently, a faint blush appearing on his cheeks.

"I really can't help but be so out of character with you." He looked away for a moment and it looked like he had an unsettling thought bothering him.

Before I could say anything about it, he continued.

"We- ah…" Kyoya stopped himself and shook his head. "_I _care about you too. The whole Host Club does." He looked at me with strict eyes, never letting go of my chin. "If anyone picks on you again, you can tell me. I'll be there. I'll always be there." He leaned closer to me and, without me noticing, my heart began to beat a little faster.

"You're mine, remember? Don't go thinking that I don't care about you."

I smiled challengingly and gave a short huff. "I thought I made it clear that no one owned me."

The sternness in Kyoya's eyes never faltered, but he gave a tiny, almost unnoticeable smile as he replied, "I thought I made it even clearer that _I do._"

There was another silence as we both sat on the floor, simply staring at each other.

He was still holding my chin and was leaned in close to my face (although not as close as all the other times) and I began to blush a bit as I realized what kind of position we were in.

I swallowed nervously and looked away, trying to find any topic to break this awkward silence.

"Well…" I pondered, standing up slowly. "If you own me…then I might as well show you…"

Kyoya watched me over the rim of his glasses as I walked over to the sink.

I turned it on and cupped water in my hands and splashed it on my face, repeating the motion a few more times until I grabbed a towel and dried off. I needed to show him this. I couldn't lie about this all the time. I sighed nervously and turned to face my mentor.

Kyoya's eyes widened in shock as he saw his apprentice turn around.

Mai's face was just _covered _in bruises! One eye was dark and swollen and his cheeks were red (with what looked like handprints) and his forehead was cut slightly and oh gosh, his nose was so purple it could have been mistaken for an eggplant.

In an instant, Kyoya was on his feet and was towering over me, pushing me against the counter as he started at my face in horror.

He traced his fingers over my bruises and breathed in deeply. "Who…"

I sighed and looked away sadly. "I got in trouble with mother last night…"

Kyoya continued to scan my face for any other wounds. He brushed my bangs out of my face, noticing how they felt weird, and frowned deeply.

"Your hair is singed…" he muttered in disbelief.

I smiled painfully as the images of the night before began to dance in my head.

"Yeah…it is…"

Kyoya breathed heavily as he continued to trace my wounds lightly with his fingers. He trailed his hand down my shoulders and down to my hands, staring at them in discomfort. Did I have bruises there too? Why couldn't he even tell when his apprentice was in pain? Why was he so bad at noticing things that mattered?!

"It's funny…" I mumbled, catching his attention.

He stared at me with wide eyes. "What?"

I looked up at him with tears staining the edges of my eyes. "I think it's funny…how my mother used to give magic kisses to make the bruises go away…" I looked down sadly again and shook my head. "But now she's the one that gives me the bruises instead."

Kyoya was silent as he felt an uncomfortable knot in his stomach. How could his apprentice go through so much every day and still muster up enough to smile? How could he continue living life like he did like nothing was ever wrong, when in reality everything was?!

"Hey…" Kyoya muttered, catching my attention quickly.

I looked up at him curiously, immediately regretting doing so as he planted a soft kiss on my forehead.

My heart stopped beating in my chest and my face grew red and hot. "W-What?!" I stammered in shock. "I-I don't-"

"You said that magic kisses would make the bruises go away." he said calmly, rubbing my forehead softly with his finger. "And I want the bruises to go away."

I closed my eyes in embarrassment and stood still as stone as Kyoya began to plant soft kisses around my face like it meant nothing more than giving a magic kiss. I mean, knowing Kyoya, it probably wasn't meant to be anything more than a magic kiss, but it still didn't stop my heart from pounding hard in my chest.

There was a bruise on the nose and kiss to make it better. There was another cut on the forehead and a kiss to make it better. There was a bruise on each cheek and kisses to make them better. There was a bruise under the eye and a kiss to make it better.

And then he noticed the split in my lip…

I opened my eyes slowly and carefully as I peered up at my mentor. I was embarrassed beyond belief. The only kisses I had even received were from my family when I was younger and occasionally Julius! This wasn't normal for me at all!

"H-Hey…" I murmured. My blush deepened as I saw him staring at the split in my lip with contemplating eyes.

I quickly knew where this was going for once and tried my best to back away, but I was pushed up against the counter with nowhere else to go.

I leaned back as much as I could, which really didn't do anything as he reached out and held my chin with his thumb again.

His eyes were still fixated on the split in my lip as he began to lean forward slowly, tilting my head to the side.

I closed my eyes in fear and held my breath, not being able to do anything but wait for it to happen.

I didn't want this to happen. This was the _last _thing I wanted to happen. I mean, to kiss my mentor? That was absurd! That was so weird and unnatural, and I didn't want it!

…right?

I slowly opened my eyes to find Kyoya breathtakingly close to my face. I shuddered as our noses brushed against each other's, and his lips were hovering over mine, contemplating whether or not to make contact.

I moved my hands to try and push him away, only to notice that they were gripping the back of his jacket timidly. My eyes widened as I noticed this. Why was my body reacting differently to my mind?

I didn't _like_ Kyoya!

"Mai…" Kyoya murmured softly, brushing our noses together again.

A shiver ran down my spine as he said my name. He sounded so calm, like this whole thing wasn't affecting him at all, when I was sitting here, having a mental freak-out.

I ran my hands down his arms, tracing every muscle curve in them gently. He wasn't very muscular, and he wasn't too skinny, but _damn _he had a nice toned feeling to him.

Kyoya noticed this and a small smile dance across his lips.

"Mai…do you really want me to?" he muttered, snaking his free arm around my waist.

I let out a tiny gasp as he pulled me closer to him, so that our bodies were touching, and the knot in my stomach tightened.

I stared at his lips in thought, pondering what I should do.

He was asking for permission. This wasn't just a magic kiss to make my split lip better. This was a _real_ kiss, and Kyoya was asking for it!

Oh god, had Julius been right the whole time? No. No, it couldn't possibly be true. Julius wasn't right. He wasn't right at all.

"I-I…" I muttered, unsure of myself. I didn't know what a kiss felt like. I had never had one. So what would it feel like to have my first one shared with my mentor? I hadn't really thought about it at all…

I swallowed down any fear that I had and gripped his jacket with shaking fingers.

"I-I, uh…" I stood on my tiptoes and pressed out foreheads together gently. "Yeah…"

Kyoya smirked and moved his hand away from my chin to the back of my neck.

"Good." He chuckled, sliding his fingers through my hair.

I tugged at his tie and leant back on the counter, closing my eyes as our noses brushed against each other's again.

And right as I felt nothing more than I brush on my upper lip, everything was gone. The arm around my waist, the hand behind my head, Kyoya's face incredibly close to mine.

Everything was gone!

I opened my eyes and almost screamed at what I saw.

The twins, with their stupid Cheshire cat grins, were standing in the door way with their arms wrapped around each other's shoulders.

"Didn't mean to-"

"-come in at a bad time…" they mocked, tapping their lips with their index fingers.

Kyoya pushed up his glasses and sent them a nasty glare. The twins backed up a bit in fear at the look that Kyoya was giving them.

If I squinted enough I swear I could have seen Kyoya shooting blue lightning at them.

Kyoya stepped forward towards the twins in anger, his fists clenched at his sides.

"You two…" he growled darkly, his glasses shining to hide his eyes.

The twins screeched and held onto each other for dear life.

"_W-We were sent in to get you! I-It's the king's fault!_"

Kyoya pushed them out the door and growled, "Fine, let's go then." Then with a quick note added, "And you two didn't see _anything_, got it?"

"_Got it!" _the twins screeched, running before Kyoya could do anything to them.

Kyoya sighed and ran a hand through his hair, stealing a quick glance back at me.

I was staring at the ground with scared eyes, wringing my wrists with my hands.

Kyoya opened his mouth to say something, but cut himself off with a shake of his head. He opened the door and stepped out, closing it silently behind him and leaving me alone with my anxious thoughts.

I leaned back on the counter as Kyoya left, tilting my head back to stare up at the ceiling.

I was still blushing. I could feel it. My face was incredibly hot. Why was I blushing so much?

My mind raced as I remembered the whole scene in my head. I had actually said yes. I had told him yes. I had given him permission to kiss me! What the hell was I thinking?!

I pulled on my hair in anger at myself and threatened to pull it out of my head. I wanted to scream. I wanted to break something, to hit something, to throw something against the wall. I wanted to scream and shout and thrash around and destroy anything and everything. I wanted to just be angry and trash this whole damn place!

But I couldn't. I couldn't make a sound, because then people would know that I was angry. I couldn't scream, and I couldn't shout, and I couldn't destroy anything and everything.

I could only stay silent.

I fell to my knees and continued to mentally scream at myself. I pulled my hair and watched as more of my tears began to fall. Why was I so stupid? Why couldn't I get Kyoya out of my mind? Why was all of this happening to _me_?!

I hugged my arms tightly to myself and shut my eyes. I wanted this all to go away. I wanted it all too just disappear.

And as I sat on the kitchen floor crying, it was somehow quiet. Always quiet. And it was cold. Always cold.

* * *

**HALF OF THIS DISCLIMER IS IMPORTANT. PLEASE READ IT!**

**Ok guys, I just wanted to apologize to anyone who is religious and or was offended by Mai's little rant on happiness. That's just Mai's character, and I swear I did **_**not**_** intend to offend **_**anyone**_**.  
Secondly, I would like to apologize for using the word "faggot" continuously. Trust me when I say that word is **_**very**_** offending to me, and I don't want **_**anyone**_** to think I am offending gays or anything. (Because now most people have replaced the word **_**gay**_** with that damned F-word.) That's just what the ignorant people of Ouran have dubbed Mai as.**

**So again, I most humbly apologize for the words I have used in this chapter. I did not mean to offend **_**anyone (**_**and if I have I will punish myself with pushups and will write you a note of apology)****.**

**Ok, now I'm done with my very important rant. Now onto the normal disclaimer.**

**So, this was by far my longest chapter. I'm sorry if I made it too long and or too sad. But yeah, I'm actually kinda proud of this chapter for once.**

**Did you guys really think I was going to have the first kiss so soon? Nope! (But, before you all find out where my house is and murder me at night, I **_**will**_** tell you that the first kiss is coming up soon. Just wait patiently.)**

**And what's this? Mai is fighting an inner battle between liking and not liking Kyoya? Hmm, I wonder what trouble that will cause!**

**Don't worry your pretty little heads about the next chapter! It won't be sad at all! And guess what, IT'S SUMMER! Yep, I have more free time now, so I'll try to update more frequently.**

**Stay tuned for the next exciting chapter, where one of the characters is in for a BIG shock!**

**What do you possibly think is going to happen in the next chapter? I want to know your ideas! So don't forget to follow, favorite, and review! And also don't forget to follow me on DA: DarkKisshu**

**Until next time!**

**-Dark Kisshu**


	21. Chapter 21

**Hello hello fellow fanfictioners!**

**So, I have a bit of free time here and there, so I'm taking every opportunity I have to get more chapters up.**

**As always, thank you for the WONDERFUL reviews. (Favorites and follows are also greatly appreciated.)**

**Uh, and you know what I just noticed? I HAVE OVER 100 FOLLOWERS NOW!  
You guys should have seen my face when I saw that. God, that made me so happy! (Guys, I don't even know 100 people. This is really big for me.)**

**Thank you sooo much you guys. Honestly, when I started this fanfic I thought that it would just go downhill and implode on itself, but you guys proved me wrong! I love each and every one of you.**

**Oh, and another quick thing. I know that some of you may be thinking "hey, I haven't seen Renge or Nekozawa!" Well, yeah, you're right. You see, I really really **_**REALLY **_**dislike Renge, and I just…yeah…no…**

**I absolutely **_**ADORE **_**Nekozawa, and was planning on using him, but then the story wrote itself and kinda…I don't know what happened *guilty grin*. But, I will hopefully use him in upcoming chapters. I think him and Mai would be best friends, don't you agree?**

**So, anyways…**

**As always, sit back, relax, and enjoy!**

* * *

Hikaru sat with his twin, thinking up a plan while he sipped his tea quietly.

A week. It had been a week since that little kitchen scene between Kyoya and his apprentice, and Hikaru and Kaoru just _knew_ they had to do something about it. Those two _needed _to be together, and they needed to be together _now_.

The only small problems were that Mai was oblivious to everything and probably would still deny the fact that Kyoya liked her (and or that she liked Kyoya), and Kyoya still thought that Mai was a boy and would never admit to being anything but straight.

Ok, so maybe those weren't _small_ problems, but hey, it could be worse, right? (No, not really).

"We really need to figure out what we're going to do." Kaoru mumbled, taking a bite of his cake.

"I know," his twin groaned, resting his head on his hand. "But the problem is, is that the only way we'll ever get Mai and Kyoya together is if Kyoya finds out that Mai is a girl, and we can't tell him because we promised Mai that we wouldn't."

Kaoru sighed and took another bite of his cake, grumbling something under his breath. "We didn't even interrupt them in _purpose_ this time! God, we have such bad timing!"

"I think we should split up and talk to them both. We don't have any guests and neither do they." Kaoru suggested with a gesture of his hand. "We can try to get them to admit that they like one another and then we can set them up!"

"Good idea, Kaoru." Hikaru snickered, polishing off the rest of his tea.

Both oh the twins stood up and dusted themselves off.

_"Well then, I'll go talk to Mai."_

The twins looked at each other in disbelief as they had spoken in unison. They each wanted to talk to Mai, and it was probably for the same reason as the other. They didn't want to talk to Kyoya, because well, Kyoya was Kyoya and Kyoya was scary when angered (not that Mai wasn't, of course, but for this topic they would much rather a stuttery red-faced Mai than an enraged swears-to-be-homophobic Kyoya any day).

Hikaru glared at his twin and shook his head. "I'm talking to Mai."

Kaoru held the same glare as his twin and crossed his arms. "No way! I'm talking to Mai!"

There was an ongoing battle of "nu-uh"s and "uh-huh"s for a few childish moments before Hikaru put an end to it by running a hand through his hair.

"Ok, we're not going to get anywhere if we just sit here and fight like children." Kaoru stated with a roll of his eyes.

Hikaru sighed. "Agreed." He sent a devilish smile towards his brother and stuck out his hand. "Then let's settle this like men. Let's play rock-paper-scissors."

Kaoru copied the devilish smile of his brother and stuck out his hand as well. "Loser has to talk to Kyoya."

Hikaru nodded in agreement and stared at Kaoru with anticipating eyes.

"Ready?"

Kaoru nodded and braced himself (which really was a bit of an overreaction, but hey, rock-paper-scissors was taken very seriously between the twins).

"Alright, best three out of five wins." Hikaru added, stealing a glance at his twin. "I am so going to beat you."

Kaoru rolled his eyes. "Whatever, just get on with it."

Hikaru snickered and jumped a little in excitement.

"Alright! Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!"

-/-

**(A/N: English between Mai and Julius will be spoken in **_**italics**_**.)**

Julius stared at me over the top of his teacup with annoyed eyes. He hummed in suspicion while taking a sip, never glancing away from me, and his eyes narrowed. He couldn't pinpoint what I wasn't telling him, and _god_ it was annoying!

"Why won't you tell me what happened between you and Kyoya?" he whined, setting his teacup down with a hair flip.

I rolled my eyes and began tapping the table lightly with my finger.

Julius inwardly smiled as he caught me doing so because that was my nervous habit, so he knew that he was getting somewhere.

"I just don't want to talk about it, ok?" I muttered, avoiding eye contact with my friend.  
Julius raised a suspicious eyebrow again.

"Actually, it's not ok. I'm curious and I like gossip, and you _always_ tell me _everything_ that goes on between you two, so I'm _super_ curious as to why you won't tell me what's going on."

"Nothing interesting happened." I lied, rubbing the back of my neck. Why couldn't he just drop this subject already?

I was normally a pretty good liar, but this was making me think back to last week and I was beginning to get nervous again. Just thinking about the whole thing made me shiver in discomfort.

Julius narrowed his eyes at me.

"I know you're lying." He sighed in annoyance and put his face in his hands. "Come on, Boo-chan! I've been trying to get this information for a whole week! If it really was nothing, then you wouldn't be hiding it like this!"

I laughed nervously and brushed Julius off with a wave of my hand.

"Really, Jui-kun, nothing happened! Nothing at all!"

Julius groaned and snuck a glance at Kyoya who was sitting at the far end of the room. Suspiciously as far away as possible from his apprentice.

Julius looked back at me and a grin slowly crept on his face.

"If nothing really happened, then why are you and Kyoya avoiding each other?"

"We aren't avoiding each other." I coughed lamely.

Julius rolled his eyes. "Oh please," he added another hair flip, "You guys haven't spoken to each other all week except for when you absolutely had to!"

"That doesn't mean anything." I muttered, poking at my teacup with a timid finger. "We just haven't had anything to talk about. That's all."

Julius groaned and sat back in his chair. He rubbed his face with his hands out of annoyance and sighed.

"You are really not making this easy at all." He leaned forward again and looked me in the eyes pleadingly. "C'mon, just tell me! I'm your best friend! Your brother! You tell me everything!"

I looked at Julius in hesitation as my breath was caught in my throat. It was true. Julius was my best friend _and _was like a brother to me, and I _did _tell him everything.

But was it really worth it to tell him about what had happened in the kitchen with Kyoya? I mean, I guess it wasn't such a big deal, now that I actually thought about it. We didn't _really_ kiss, so I guess it was nothing to freak out over, right?

I swallowed hard and sighed, rubbing my temples with my fingers in frustration.

"Fine," I murmured, closing my eyes, "But you have to keep it a secret, got it?"

Julius nodded happily and leaned in closer with anticipation. Honestly, he looked like a young child waiting for a bedtime story.

I sighed again and put my face in my hands, trying to hide the blush that was forming.

"Kyoya and I..."

The rest of the sentence couldn't be heard due to my embarrassed mumbling, annoying Julius even further.

"You and Kyoya, _what_?" he asked, leaning in closer.

I mumbled a few cuss words under my breath and tried again, this time taking my face out of my hands.

"K-Kyoya and I...almost...kissed..." I admitted nervously, stealing a cautious glance at my friend.

Julius rolled his eyes and sat back in his chair again, over all a little disappointed in the news.

"Is that all?" he mocked, flicking hair off of his face. "I've heard that before. Like the beach, or the cosplay act, or-"

"But this time was...different." I cut in, wringing my wrists with my hands.

Julius raised an eyebrow suspiciously.

"Yeah?" he questioned. "How?"

I shifted my gaze to the side embarrassedly and continued to wring my wrists. That was another nervous habit that I had.

"Well~," I hesitated, letting the _L _slide off my tongue. "He didn't just get close to my face this time..." I looked down at my lap as I felt my face growing even warmer. "Our noses brushed together and...I think I felt our lips brush for a second before he pulled away."

Julius smirked and rested his head on his hand. "And do you have an excuse for this one? Was he trying to get a better look at your bruise?"

I shook my head nervously and rubbed the back of my neck.

"I-I uh...no...but that's only because...well..."

"Because?" Julius encouraged, raising a cocky eyebrow.

I swallowed hard and shook my head.

"Because he asked for permission to kiss me and I...kinda...said yes..."

I gave a timid what-can-you-do-grin with a shrug of my shoulders as I finished, coughing nervously.

Julius' mouth fell open in shock and his eyes widened to the size of dinner plates. He grabbed my shoulders with shaking hands and leaned in closer to me.

"Y-You...you did_ WHAT_?!"

I panicked and put my hand over his mouth to quiet him down before anyone heard what he was saying. Really, I didn't want this to be spreading around school, and with how loudly Julius was speaking I was pretty sure China could hear him.

"Hush, Jui-kun! Don't speak so loudly!" I sighed and shook my head, still covering his mouth. "Ok, listen, it wasn't anything big. It was just- EW! DON'T LICK MY HAND!"

I pulled my hand away from him and rubbed it off on his shirt with an angry glare.

Julius began squirming in his chair and threw his hands into the air in excitement, completely avoiding the daggers I was shooting at him.

"Oh gosh, I can't believe this is happening!" he exclaimed brightly, his eyes shining in joy.

He put his hands on the table and leaned in to look me in the eyes.

"Ok, for one, when is the wedding, and can I be your best man?"

My eyes widened and I covered my face with my hands. "J-Jui -kun-"

"No, no, wait! I want to be the maid of honor!" he cut off, clasping his hands together. "I'll set this whole thing up, don't you worry! I already have some ideas! You two will get married on Halloween because it's close to your birthday,"

"W-Wait, Jui-kun-"

"And the color scheme will be black and purple because those are your guys' rose colors! Oh, and I'll call up the old band members so they can come down and play the music!"

"J-Jui-kun, we aren't getting married!" I finally cut in (probably louder than I should have because I got a few odd looks from passing guests).

Julius sighed and shook his head. "You're growing up so fast, but you're growing up so dense! It's a match made in heaven! Open your eyes girl!"

I crossed my arms and glared at him out of annoyance. "Oh shut up, since when have you ever been a good match maker?"

Julius shrugged his shoulders and then glared at me devilishly with a Cheshire cat grin.

"Hey, I wasn't the one who wanted a little taste of the Shadow King." he chimed, tapping his lips with his index finger.

"W-What?!" I stammered, my face growing even redder than it already was. Seriously, if this was an anime, steam would have been shooting from my ears.

Julius chuckled and shook his head slowly. "Darling, I don't blame you at all. That Shadow King of yours is a real catch. You better hang onto him while you can."

Julius let out a yelp in surprise as he ducked to avoid a fork being thrown at his face.

"J-Julius, y-you idiot!" I screeched, grabbing the collar of his shirt. "D-Don't just say t-things like that! N-Nothing is going on between Kyoya and me! H-He's just my mentor!"

"Just your mentor?"

Julius and I turned to see Kaoru grinning at us; fingers held up proudly in the peace sign (or was it scissors for rock-paper-scissors?).

My eyes narrowed and I let go of Julius with an annoyed huff. "What are you doing here, Kaoru?"

Kaoru shrugged and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Oh, you know, this and that." His grin widened as he winked devilishly. "Hikaru really sucks at rock-paper-scissors."

"I'll have to remember that." I rolled my eyes sarcastically, waving a hand in the air. "Anyway, I'm busy with a guest, so you'll have to leave."

Kaoru hummed and raised an eyebrow at Julius. "You're requesting her now?"

Julius nodded and took a sip of his tea. "Yep," he grinned to himself and held in a fit of laughter as he added, "Kyoya-san gets jealous when I come around uninvited, so I started making reservations so he can't kick me out."

"He doesn't get jealous!" I spat, smacking the back of his head.

Julius laughed and muttered a sorry as I huffed in annoyance and turned away from him with a cross of my arms.

Kaoru watched in amusement as the young redhead began to get flustered beyond belief as the topic of her mentor was brought up. He knew something was up, and he really just _had_ to look into it.

"So, uh," Kaoru started awkwardly, swaying from his heels to his toes. "About Kyoya-kun…"

"What about him?" I growled, narrowing my eyes. Honestly, I didn't like where this topic was heading. I knew that Kaoru probably suspected something after walking in on us in the kitchen, and I wasn't about to let him know that I actually had a crush on my mentor. (A tiny crush. Very tiny. Like a tiny jellyfish. Why a jellyfish? Why not. Those things are awesome.)

Kaoru swallowed nervously as he noticed that he was bringing out the "angry Mai" and rubbed the back of his neck with a timid smile.

"Just…um…you know…" he coughed nervously and gave a sheepish grin as he spoke in a hushed voice. "I was just wondering how you felt about him."

I felt my face begin to heat up again and I grit my teeth to prevent myself from punching Kaoru in the face. I couldn't let him know how I felt about Kyoya. I couldn't let anyone besides Julius know.

"What the hell do you mean by that?" I snapped, shooting daggers at the stupid Hitachiin twin.

Kaoru laughed nervously and waved his hands in the air. "N-Nothing! Nothing! I-I was just, y'know, wondering what kind of …relationship you two had?"

I growled darkly as a dark purple aura began to circle around me, engulfing me in an embarrassed rage.

"We don't have any kind of _relationship_." I spat, standing up slowly.

Kaoru took a timid step backwards and put his hands up for defense. Honestly, right now he would rather be talking to Kyoya.

'_Dammit,' _Kaoru thought bitterly, biting his lip. '_I thought that Mai would just get stuttery and embarrassed! I'm gunna die!'_

I cracked my knuckles angrily and took another step forward, fully prepared to beat the crap out of Kaoru when I was stopped by my blonde friend.

"_Mai, calm down. He doesn't know anything. He's just trying to get to you." _Julius stated, taking a bored sip of his tea.

I turned to Julius and immediately the purple aura surrounding me faded. My angry mask cracked and I looked at Julius with puppy dog eyes as I whined, "_But Jui-kun! He's being annoying! Let me beat him up, just a little!"_

Julius shook his head and pointed downwards. "_No. Sit."_

"_But-"_

"_Sit!"_

I grumbled in annoyance and crossed my arms as I did as told, turning away from Julius with an annoyed huff like a child.

"_You're no fun, you know that?"_

Kaoru stared at Julius and I in complete and utter shock at what he had heard. Not like he understood any of it, but that was the point! Since when did Mai know another language? Sometimes Kaoru thought that she barely spoke Japanese!

Kaoru flailed his finger at me and sputtered in complete awe, "M-Mai! Y-You know English?!"

I glanced at Kaoru from the corners of my eyes and raised an eyebrow. "Yeah. What's it to you?"

"You- ah, wha-" Kaoru stomped his foot on the ground and flailed his finger even more. "Why didn't you _tell _any of us?"

Upon seeing Kaoru so flustered, I smirked to myself and shrugged my shoulders. I was glad that I had distracted him from the Kyoya topic for now.

"If you haven't noticed, I don't tell you guys a lot of things."

"_Like how you have a crush on Kyoya."_ Julius interrupted, smirking at me from across the table.

"_You wanna start somethin, punk!" _I snapped back, raising a fist.

"H-Hey, guys…" Kaoru muttered, noticing how he was being left out as Julius and Mai started bickering in a language that he couldn't understand.

"Guys, really, come on…"

Kaoru sighed as he was ignored by the two bickering teens and ran a hand through his hair. Honestly, he could only hope that his brother was making more progress than he was.

-/-

Hikaru stood nervously before the Shadow King as he noticed that he was making him the slightest bit angry by bringing up the topic of his apprentice. Honestly, Hikaru knew that he probably shouldn't be doing this, but hey, it was worth a shot.

"W-What I meant to say," Hikaru stammered, rubbing the back of his neck, "W-Well…I mean…uh…"

Kyoya's glasses shone angrily and he closed his laptop with a fierce snap.

"I know what you and your brother are trying to do," said the Shadow King, rising to his feet, his laptop tucked beneath his arm, "And I'm telling you right now that it will not work."

Hikaru chuckled nervously and tried to reason with his friend. "We aren't really trying to do anything… kinda… sorta…"

Kyoya huffed and turned on his heel. "Forget whatever stupid fantasy that you and your brother have put into your minds, because there is simply no way that I would _ever_ love another man."

"But Mai-" Hikaru quickly cut himself off with a bite of his lower lip. Shit, that was almost too close.

Kyoya turned his head and raised a suspicious eyebrow at the Hitachiin twin.

"But Mai, _what_?"

Hikaru swallowed hard and shook his head frantically, hoping that Kyoya wouldn't catch on. Honestly, if Mai found out that Kyoya knew because Hikaru told him he would be dead in ten seconds. And it would probably the most painful ten seconds of his life.

Hikaru shuddered at the thought and quickly disregarded it with another shake of his head.

"N-Never mind!" he sputtered uncontrollably, "I-I have to go! I-I think I hear Kaoru calling me!"

And with that said, Hikaru sped off towards Mai's table, leaving an angrily suspicious Shadow King alone to think.

Kyoya sighed as he watched Hikaru scramble away, seeming to be hiding something important. Kyoya honestly couldn't care less at this point, though. Mai had his secrets (a good number of them, mind you) and he figured that when Mai was ready to share them, then he would. And it's not like Mai could hide these secrets forever. Something _always_ happened to screw things up, and the next thing everyone knew, Mai was spilling a thing of his past again.

Kyoya pushed up his glasses and began walking. Where he was going, he didn't know. He just wanted to get away from these idiots.

He couldn't let them know how he felt about his apprentice. That would cause major hell. Honestly, the great and powerful Shadow King falling for a redhead delinquent? And a _boy_ at that!

It was unnatural! It was disgusting! It was frowned upon!

Kyoya ran a hand through his hair and snuck a quick glance at the small redhead, feeling his cheeks warm ever so slightly.

Honestly, why couldn't it have been someone else?

-/-

Tamaki waved off the last guest of the day with a gentleman smile and then turned to the group of Hosts that were sitting on the couches. He joined his friends and sat next to Haruhi, picking up the cup of tea that had already been premade for him.

"So," he said, taking a light sip of the sweet drink, "Do we have all of the preparations for tomorrows Host Ball done?"

Kyoya typed away on his laptop and nodded, but didn't bother to look at his blonde friend.

"Yes, all of the preparations are done. All that is left are the decorations, which we will do during the day to make sure it is finished by the time the ball starts."

"Excellent!" the blonde chirped happily, eyes shining brightly. "Oh, this just so exciting! It's my dear redheaded sons first Host Ball!" He turned to his _son_ with a gleeful smile. "Are you excited?"

Tamaki's bright smile quickly turned into a whimsical smirk as he saw the position that the redhead was in.

He was sleeping and was curled into a small ball (Tamaki honestly didn't know how he could even squeeze himself that tightly), and was carelessly resting his head on Mori's lap. Mori honestly didn't seem to care at all as he mechanically moved his fingers to stroke Mai's hair, like he always did with Honey when he was asleep on his lap. He honestly didn't mean anything by it; it was just a habit now.

"Ah, my son has had a tiring day, it seems~." Tamaki swooned at the adorableness of the sleeping redhead. Honestly, Tamaki couldn't help but admit how cute Mai was when he was sleeping.

He looked so calm, so peaceful. Like he wasn't about ready to wrap his hands around your throat or punch you in the stomach.

Mori smiled slightly and glanced at his sleeping friend. "Ah."

Although it went unnoticed to the group of hosts, the Shadow King's typing grew louder due to the fact that he was hitting the keys harder in annoyance.

Why did Mai have to fall asleep on Mori's lap and not his? Mai was _his_ apprentice, so shouldn't he be cuddling with Kyoya right about now? (Although Kyoya wouldn't allow such affection shown in front of others, but still, it would have been nice for the redhead to at least consider him a cuddling option!)

Kyoya sighed through grit teeth and tried to calm himself.

'_Now, now, Kyoya,' _he thought bitterly, taking a gulp of his own tea, '_Jealousy will get you nowhere in life. Mai isn't an object that you can possess over. Just calm down.'_

"Nee, Kyo-kun, are you alright?" Honey asked innocently, hugging Usa-chan around the neck, "You look a bit upset."

"I'm fine." Kyoya insisted, closing his laptop. Honestly, how often did he use that lie? Probably just about as much as Mai used it.

And speaking of the redheaded devil, he began to stir in his sleep as Mori began poking his face in an attempt to wake him.

Mai opened his bright eyes and blinked at the hosts sleepily, still in a daze.

"Did I fall asleep?" he asked quietly, rubbing his eye with a yawn.

'_Dammit, stop acting so cute.'_ Kyoya had to coolly look away to hide the thoughts swarming his state of mind.

Mori nodded and helped his friend sit up.

Mai was exhausted, that much was for sure. He was slouching, had dark rings under his eyes, and was still drowsy from the catnap that he had taken on his friend's lap, so he was swaying just a little.

Tamaki handed the sleepy Mai a cup of tea, to which the redhead took it with a blank stare.

"Tomorrow is the Host Ball." the blonde spoke slowly, hoping Mai understood him in his sleep deprived daze.

Mai's expression darkened instantly. Looks like he was more coherent than Tamaki thought.

Mai shook his head and placed his tea on the table in front of him. "I'm not coming. I hate parties. There are too many people."

"It's mandatory," Kyoya cut in blankly, still not bothering to look at his apprentice. "You have to come."

Mai narrowed his eyes as his gaze fell upon the Shadow King.

"Like hell I'm coming. I'm not wasting my time dancing with stupid girls while I could be doing something better like admiring the fact that my mother isn't home for three days."

Ok, a sleepy Mai is an angry Mai. That should be useful for future reference.

"Actually, Mai, you really do have to be there." Haruhi whispered sympathetically, giving the young redhead a soft smile.

Mai looked at her and scanned her face for a moment before sighing. It was obvious that Haruhi had been forced to attend to one of these _Host Balls _as well.

"I don't have anything to wear." Mai tried again, but of course, someone else had a plan to trap Mai in a corner.

"_We took care of that!" _the twins chimed, raising their hands.

Mai glared at them out of the corners of his eyes. Why did they always have to have a backup for the redhead no matter what? The young host honestly found it unbelievably annoying.

"This friggen sucks," the redhead sulked, lying on Mori's lap again, "I hate these types of things."

"Yes, well, these are the types of things you must be involved in when you become a host." Kyoya spoke up again, seeming to be annoyed. At what, Mai didn't know, but he had a good clue that it had something to do with her lying on Mori's lap.

To test her theory, Mai snuggled even closer to her friend, taking an evil glance towards the Shadow King.

Kyoya noticed immediately and bit his thumb, trying to control the jealousy inside him. He had to stay cool and collected, like everyone thought he was.

Mai noticed Kyoya becoming angrier by the second and internally laughed. Seeing him this way just brought a smile to her face. Why? Because she was one of the only one that could make Kyoya act so out of character, that's why.

"Whatever," Mai yawned, closing her eyes and snuggling into Mori's lap to find a comfortable position, "I'm falling asleep again, and I swear to Satan, if anyone wakes me up before the meeting is over, a fork is going up someone's ass, got it?"

A majority of the hosts shook in fear and swallowed nervously.

"G-Got it…"

Mai smiled devilishly and yawned again. "Good."

And with that said, the young host was already off into a deep sleep, dreaming about god knows what.

Kyoya sighed and shook his head, then took his glasses off and rubbed them on his jacket.

Honestly, why did Mai have to be so cute? It wasn't fair. It simply just was not fair.

Tamaki coughed awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck, catching everyone's attention.

"Well, we better get back to the meeting." he whispered, making sure not to wake up the sleeping host. Tamaki would rather much prefer Hell to not rise for now, thank you very much.

Kyoya barely paid attention as the meeting continued. It was just that same stuff as always. Profits, numbers, and a lot of big words.

He stole a glance at his apprentice again and frowned as his heart began to ache.

Why couldn't it be _him_ that Mai was cuddling?

* * *

**IMPORTANTTTTTTTT. I'M SORRYYYYYY.**

**Ok, yes, I said that one of the characters was in for a surprise in this chapter. Well, that's because I was going to make the ball chapter this one, but then I actually started writing it and I noticed that if I kept going with my original idea the chapter would be suuuuper long, and I didn't want that. So yeah, the surprise is going to happen in the NEXT chapter, I promise.**

**Also, I also apologize for the whole "**It was unnatural! It was disgusting! It was frowned upon!" **thing. Trust me when I say that I have absolutely NOTHING against gay people. (I, in fact, am actually a BIG supporter of LGBT!)**

**So, again, sorry, and if I have offended you, just tell me and I will do pushups.**

**Ok normal disclaimer:**

**I should have posted much much sooner, and I'm sorryyy. (Also, this chapter should have been much much longer! What the hell!)**

**The things you can blame are: Karate, Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica, K-on!, Jigoku Shoujo, and Supernatural. (I have been wasting countless hours of the day watching these!)**

**I promise I will get the next chapter up quicker, because well, I've been in a bad mood lately and you all know how I love to write while I'm upset.**

**So yeah, anyways, please follow, favorite, and review! And don't forget that I love you all!**

**Also, follow me on DA! (DarkKisshu)  
Follow me on Tumblr! (EggplantMaster)  
Follow me on Instagram! (Kisshu)  
Or even say hi to me on kik! (DarkKisshu)**

**Until next time!**

**-Maiya Takahashi (sorry again for making this a 2 chapter thing instead of one)**


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